Honoring Hawaii’s First Casualties of WW1

Hawaii’s World War I Centennial Task Force held its inaugural event marking the 100th anniversary of “the war to end all wars”, April 2, at Aloha Tower.   The ceremony honored the memory of six Hawaii men who died when the American merchant ship SS Aztec was torpedoed in the north Atlantic on April 1, 1917.  The sinking of the SS Aztec by a German U-boat was one of several factors that led the United States to declare war on Germany and its allies and enter the war on April 6, 1917. 

Major General Arthur “Joe” Logan, state adjutant general, was selected as the keynote speaker because of the historic maritime connection the State of Hawaii, Department of Defense had with WW I.   One hundred years ago, the Naval Militia was one of the divisions of the territorial defense department.  (The Naval Militia was later absorbed into the Navy Reserve and was transferred to the Department of the Navy.) Hawaii’s Naval Militia was mobilized during the war and those sailors were among the ten thousand Hawaii residents who became WW I era veterans.   Most of those veterans were members of the Hawaii National Guard.  On June 1, 1918 more than 5,500 soldiers of the Hawaii Guard were mobilized for active duty service at an Iolani Palace ceremony.  That WW I mobilization remains the largest mobilization in Hawaii National Guard history. 

Hawaii’s WW I Task Force was formed in 2015 and will coordinate centennial events throughout Hawaii through Nov. 11, 2018 when the nation commemorates the 100th anniversary of the end of the war.  Commemorative partners for the April 2 ceremony included: the U.S. Coast Guard, Royal Hawaiian Band, Hawaii Pacific University, Hawaii Yacht Club, Hawaii Pilots Association, Daughters of the American Revolution and Gordon Biersch Restaurant.