Visiting the city of Honolulu means you’re very
close to Waikīkī, Pearl Harbor and Diamond Head. This is the largest city in
the Hawaiian Islands and the location of the seat of government for the state.
For many people, Honolulu is best known for Pearl Harbor and the Japanese
attack of December 7, 1941 that brought the United States into World War II.
The Japanese saw this strike as a preventive measure to keep the U.S. Pacific
Fleet out of Southeast Asia where the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and the
United States had territories. Immediately following the attack, the writ of
habeas corpus was suspended and Hawai’i was placed under martial law.
Blackouts, confiscation of land, censorship, intelligence reports on locals,
restrictions on use of US paper money and movement of Japanese-Americans to
internment camps occurred. The writ of habeas corpus was not restored until
1944 and it took a presidential edict to accomplish its reestablishment.
