The Ni'ihau Incident

December 7, 1941, a day that has forever lived in infamy for the American people. The day that the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. For those on the island of Ni'ihau, it holds a different significance, the day that Airman 1st Class Shigenori Nishikaichi crash-landed his plane onto the island.

The island of Ni'ihau is the westernmost and smallest of all the Hawaiian islands. It has been owned by the Robinsons, a wealthy white family, since 1864. At the time of the incident, there were 136 inhabitants on the island, with the majority being native Hawaiians. The owner at the time was Aylmer Robinson, although he did not live on the island he would make weekly visits by boat. The island was only accessible with permission from Robinson, making it extremely secluded. There were only 3 non-Hawaiians on the island: Ishimatsu Shintani (a Japanese immigrant) and first generation Americans Yoshio and Irene Harada.

Japanese intelligence had told the pilots to land on the island in case their planes were damaged, as they believed the island to be uninhabited. At the time that Shigenori crashed, Hawila Kaleohano, a native Hawaiian, was standing only 19 feet from the plane. Hawila, also known as Howard, was the most educated man on the island and was able to recognize that the plane was Japanese. Having read newspapers brought by Mr. Robinson, he knew that relations between the U.S. and Japan were poor. He quickly took the pilots papers and gun while he was still unconscious. When the pilot came to they sent for Yoshio Harada to translate, it was during their conversation that the pilot disclosed to Harada that the Japanese had attacked Pearl Harbor. Yoshio chose not to disclose this information to the native Hawaiians.

That night they celebrated the arrival of the pilot, throwing a party and dancing to their battery operated radio. It was then that the Hawaiians learned of the attack. They immediately put the pilot under guard and decided to wait for the island's owner, Robinson, who was meant to come the following day. As a result of the attack on Pearl Harbor, all boat traffic between the islands had been stopped by the military. The people on the island had no way of knowing this due to their isolation and were uneasy when Robinson did not come the following day.

The Haradas managed to convince everyone into letting the pilot stay with them, under the watch of 5 guards, giving them ample opportunities to talk to Shigenori. The papers that Kaleohano had taken became the center of all the chaos that was to follow. The pilot had been told by his superiors to never let the papers fall into American hands. On December 12, Shintani (the only other Japanese inhabitant on the island) approached Kaleohano with 200, offering to buy the papers, but was turned down. While this happened, Yoshio and the pilot attacked the lone guardsman, while Irene played music to cover up the sounds from the struggle. They put the guard in a shed, took a shotgun and the pilot's pistol now armed they continued on to Kaleohano's house.

Kaleohano was in the outhouse when the attackers arrived, now with a 16-year-old hostage. When they could not find Kaleohano, they turned their attention to the nearby plane. It was here that they attempted to contact Japanese submarines. Seeing his opportunity, Kaleohano left the outhouse to go warn the other islanders and grab the pilot's papers before it was too late. At 12:30 a.m. Kaleohano and 5 other islanders began paddling to the island of Kauai'i where Robinson lived. After their failed attempt at contacting the Japanese, Yoshio and the pilot torched the plane and Kaleohano's house.

The morning of Saturday, December 13, Yoshio and the pilot captured Ben and Ella Kanahele. They ordered Ben to find Kaleohano, keeping Ella as their hostage. Knowing that Kaleohano had already left for Kaui'i, he made a show of looking for him. When he returned empty handed his captors realized what had happened. They began threatening him saying that if Kaleohano was not found then the pilot would kill everyone on the island. Ben, seeing the fatigue of his captors, took advantage of the pilot handing the shotgun to Yoshio to jump on the pilot. Ella leapt on the pilot and was able to subdue him until pulled off by Yoshio, the pilot then shot Ben three times: in the groin, stomach, and leg. Ben then picked up the pilot and threw him against a stone wall, Ella bashed his head in, and finally Ben slit his throat. Yoshio then turned the shotgun on himself, committing suicide.

Ben was taken to the Waimea Hospital on Kaui'i to recover. He was given the Medal of Merit and the Purple Heart.

Sources:
1. http://www.hawaiireporter.com/niihau-incident-benehakaka-ben-kanahele-wwii-medal-for-merit-purple-heart-1891-1962/123