During the WWII era, an overwhelming majority of the students at McKinley High School were of Japanese ancestry (either first born in America, or born in Japan) and McKinley was known as “Tokyo High.” With some of the population it was a term of humorous affection, with others it was a nod to anti-Japanese sentiment and suspicions about the loyalty of the local Japanese. In fact, one of the rumors that emerged the day after the attack of the Japanese Imperial Navy, was that a McKinley High School ring was found on a downed Japanese pilot’s body. The rumor proved false.
I have spoken to several Japanese-American women about their war era experience. A few want to remain anonymous. Quite a few of these women were students at McKinley. So, I’ve extracted facts and stories from what they told me and consolidated them into this column.
Like modern day teenage girls, many women I spoke to said that they were more concerned about fashion and boys than they were about politics or possible enemy invasion. And once the threat of a land invasion was quieted after the victory at the Battle of Midway, their lives took on a “normal routine” of blackouts, gas masks, air raid drills, and First Aid classes.
On December 7, 1941, McKinley High, a bomb (or shrapnel) fell in front of the school administration building. It shattered windows and crumbled parts of a wall. McKinley, like all schools on Oahu, was closed down on December 8, 1941 and did not reopen until February of 1942. When it did reopen it was on a split session. McKinley students attended classes from 7:45 a.m. to 1:45 p.m. The afternoon classes were attended by students whose schools were taken over by the government. (Among the schools taken over by the government were Punahou, St. Louis, and Cathedral School.) And while the public image of this shared facility set-up was one of co-operation, early on during the war, quite a few Japanese students found “anti-Jap” notes in their desks and lockers.
Richard Kosaki wrote in the McKinley 1942 annual, that when school re-opened, “Many a student found out that his pal was working on a defense project and was not returning to school.” Mrs. Yates, the school registrar, reported student enrollment fell from 3,860 students pre-war to 2,156 on February 8, 1942. (Additional students left during the school year.)
There were other changes at school. The hot plate lunch doubled in cost from a nickel to a dime due to the increased cost and scarcity of food. School social events were held in broad daylight due to the government-imposed curfew. And fashion changed—girls were allowed to wear pants to school since it was the clothing recommended for air raid drills. One of the unacceptable fashion statements among the girls was the wearing of gas masks. (The photo seen here was taken from the McKinley 1942 annual.) Along with the mask, came training. According to Kosaki, “Each student went through a tear gas chamber in school. . . to make certain that the mask was in perfect working condition. Everyone was also forced to take his gas mask off and go into a gas chamber just to see ‘what it’s like.’”
It became “in vogue” for girls to wear silver or gold ID bracelets, anklets, chains, discs and “dog tags.” These jewelry pieces were “on the must have list for high school girl” according to a jewelry store ads in the Honolulu Advertiser. (March 1942). Soon after the attack, jewelry stores were swamped with orders to make attractive ID bracelets engraved with their full name, address, blood type and next of kin.
Due to the scarcity of stockings, fashionable young women applied makeup to their legs, including painting a black line up the back of the leg to complete the illusion of seamed stockings. One woman told me, "We used eyebrow pencils to make ‘seams,’ but when it got hot, all the makeup dripped down our legs."
Even the McKinley grounds were a little less than beautiful during the war. The lawn and lush gardens were etched with zigzag trenches and air raid shelters. Most of the trenches were dug by the boys during Physical Education classes. (At first a perimeter of piled sandbags provided temporary splinter-proof shelters until the boys permanent shelters were built. The boys also built stretchers during their shop classes.)
There were quite a few strange sights during the war. The McKinley High School annual of 1942 published a photo of Mrs. Matthewman, a teacher, who rode her putt-putt to school all through the war due to gas rationing.
During the first week of school re-opening, McKinley High School students purchased $3,468.75 of war stamps and bonds. Twenty girls, under the direction of Mrs. V. Loper and Mrs. M. Goff volunteered at two emergency units at Aliiolani School, the designated evacuation center for persons living in Kaimuki and parts of Waikiki. Fourteen girls (and seventeen boys) answered the call for assistance by the Office of Military Government for cashiers and clerks for the issuance of liquor permits at city Hall. Among the first girls to report to Queens Hospital to give blood were: Susie Watanabe, Katie Kawaguchi, May Yamaguchi, Beulah Acona, May Ann Kalama, Nellie Shim, and Eleanor Delanux.Of course, there were boys there, too: Mason Hironaka, Asami Iiguchi, Sueo Sakamoto, William Chang, Isaac Ikehara, Hiroshi Okamoto and George Nakaichi.
An interesting poll was taken during the first months of the war. McKinley High School student government asked, “Do you agree that women should be drafted?” The results? 68% said yes; 26% said no.
The McKinley girls may have made skilled marksmensharpshooters. The photo shown is of the Girls Rifle Team under the direction of Sargeant Easter of the R.O.T.C. unit. According to Easter, the girls devoted school periods and afterschool time practicing. During the war competitions between high school girls rifle teams developed.
Eighty-eight girls at McKinley were busy knitting, assembling face masks, and sewing bed bags for the Red Cross. Twenty-two assisted in the Department of Health’s mass immunization of citizens against typhoid. (The charge for the typhoid vaccine was one dollar.)
For the seven weeks that schools were closed, students from McKinley volunteered at First Aid Stations, Red Cross and the Office of Military Government. Students assisted in the census and fingerprinting of all civilians, issuing Identification Cards, and training Girl Scouts to be baby sitters in evacuation centers.
One woman told me that one of the hardest blows of the war was that the Kalikimaka Ball (Christmas Ball) was cancelled. It was scheduled for December 17, 1941, and she heard rumor that a boy she had a crush on all year was going to ask her to the dance. The dance was cancelled and all tickets for the ball went unused. (This is also mentioned in the 1942 annual.)
Traditional holidays took on new twists. For Lei Day, students brought in plumeria and bougainvillea from their yards and strung lei to give to service men in hospitals. By Lei Day, May 1, 1942, McKinley students bought $31,744.40 war bonds or stamps.
Because I am a librarian myself, my favorite school rule change was the one issued by Louise Kawamoto, Chair of the Library Committee. Kawamoto declared, “Because of the war, the Lost Book Policy will be amended. Books that were destroyed by the bombing of December 7, 1941, fire shrapnel, or reasons unavoidable will not be required to be paid for this year….We ask each student to strive to bring back every lost book.”
The contributions of the members of McKinley High School are etched in the history of Hawaii. Graduates from these classes produced educators, politicians and businessmen who shaped the political structure and thrust of the territory/state for the next generation fifty years.
