The “Fighting Fourth” was home-based at Camp Maui (aka “Giggle Hill”)
during WWII operations in the Pacific.
Camp Maui in Ha‘ikū (housing 20,000 Marines) was the main base of the
4th Marine Division.
It is said it was nicknamed “Giggle Hill” because American soldiers
training there would bring their girls here to "neck". At night, you could sometimes hear the
giggles of young women.
At the outbreak of WWII, the Army rented 1,600 acres from various
landowners in the Ha‘ikū area. The
principal owners were: Hawaiian Pineapple Co. (490 acres,) Maui Agricultural
Co. (397 acres) and the Copp Estate (220 acres). Thirteen different owners accounted for the
remaining 493 acres. The rental for the site was $15,000 per year, prorated
among the owners.
Buildings went up for offices, tents for living quarters; mess halls
were constructed and roads carved out. Post Exchanges opened up; movie screens
and stages were built and baseball diamonds were laid out.
The terrain and beaches of Maui provided excellent and rugged training
ground. All the Division's amphibious
maneuvers for the Marianas and Iwo Jima operations were held off Ma‘alaea Bay. Haleakalā became a course with 13-mile hikes
through its crater.
A total of 47 training areas, many of them belonging to the Army, were
available to the Division. Six areas,
consisting of gulches and rough terrain, near the camp, were used for non-tactical
maneuvering.
On the outskirts of camp, a demolitions area, a live-grenade course, a
pistol range and machine-gun range were set up.
Five miles east of camp, in a gulch opening into the sea, was the
Division's bazooka area, and along the coast, east of camp for about ten miles,
were combat firing ranges which permitted the maneuvering and firing of tanks
and halftracks in coordination with the infantry.
The Division's 100-target rifle range at Opana Point was also located
in this area. Another area in the
vicinity was used to train motor transport drivers in the movement of troops
and supplies under both day and night conditions of combat.
The Ma‘alaea Bay area furnished an antitank moving-target range, a
close-combat range, and a 20-point rifle range. The beach at Ma‘alaea Bay was
fortified with pillboxes and emplacements modeled after the Tarawa Beach.
In addition to all this, there was a mortar and artillery impact area,
a seacoast artillery range and an antiaircraft firing area. Inland were two artillery
positions and maneuver areas. In the center of the island, near the Pu‘unene
Air Station, were, the Division's tank maneuver areas.
Maui was involved in the war effort as a staging center, training base
and for rest and relaxation. At the
1943-44 peak, the number of troops stationed on Maui exceeded 100,000.
The 4th Marines were involved with four major battles: Kwajalein
(Roi-Namur,) Saipan, Tinian and Iwo Jima, suffering more than 17,000
casualties.
Kwajalein (Roi-Namur)
In one historic week, from January 29 to February 4, 1944, the 4th
Marine Division set three new records: it became the first division to go
directly into combat from the US; it was first to capture Japanese-mandated
territory in the Pacific; and it secured its objective in a shorter time than
that of any other important operation since the attack on Pearl Harbor.
Camp Maui was first occupied by the 4th Marine Division in
late-February 1944 after the Roi-Namur operation in Kwahalein (Marshall
Islands.)
Saipan
The 4th Marine Division landed on Saipan June 15, 1944. The severity of this battle was indicated by
the 2,000 casualties suffered in the first two days of battle. The Flag was raised on Saipan after 25
grueling and bitter days of combat. The
Division sustained 5,981 casualties killed, wounded and missing (27.6 percent
of the Division's strength.) The
Japanese count was 23,811 known dead and 1,810 prisoners were taken.
Tinian
The 4th Marine Division landed on Tinian 24 July 1944. The island was defended by 9000 plus Japanese
troops. This battle lasted nine days.
The land assault on Tinian had cost the Division 290 men killed, 1,515
wounded and 24 missing in action. Approximately 9,000 Japanese troops were dead
and 250 prisoners taken. In recognition of its work on Saipan and Tinian, the
Fourth Division was awarded the Presidential Unit Citation.
The Division arrived back on Maui from the Saipan-Tinian operations in
late-August 1944.
Iwo Jima
The Japanese troops on Iwo Jima numbered 23,000. The first wave of Marines hit the beach the
morning of February 19, 1945. By the end
of the second day casualties totaled 2,011.
On March 16th, 26 days after the first troops landed, Iwo Jima was
declared secured - the greatest battle in Marine Corps history was over.
After the battle of Iwo Jima, the Division arrived back on Maui in
early-April 1945.
On July 4, 1945, a parade was held on the Camp Maui airstrip, at which
time 714 men of the Division were decorated. The Divisions was awarded two
Presidential Unit Citations and a Navy Unit Commendation. Twelve men from the Fourth Marines were
awarded the Medal of Honor for "conspicuous gallantry."
The 4th Marine Division was deactivated November 28, 1945. In April 1946, the Camp Maui land was
returned to the owners.
Today, the grounds are now a public park named “Kalapukua Playground” (“magical
playground”;) Giggle Hill has a large children's playground (and some claim
they can still hear the laughter of Marines and their girlfriends on dark
nights.)
The centerpiece of the park is the memorial to the Fourth Marine
Division. In addition to these images
(JoeRichard-BenBradshaw,) I have added other images and maps of Camp Maui and
related images in a folder of like name in the Photos section of my Facebook
page.
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