Bolos of the Kauai Volunteers

[Argonauts2]

Kaua'i is the northern-most island of the main Hawaiian Islands. At the beginning of WWII, it was very rural, sparsely populated, and considered a very likely spot for a Japanese invasion force to land. To supplement the defense forces of the island, in March 1942 the Hawaiian Department authorized three battalions of Kauai Volunteers.

 

This force consisted of four companies per battalion, a service department and three mounted units. Ninety percent of the regiment of 2,500 was Filipino. As it can be seen on these pictures from Google LIFE, these troops were well dressed and well equipped. They were funded locally; for example, in June 1943 the Kauai Post of the American Legion raised over $25,000 for fatigues and shoes, which were very similar to the US Army uniform at the time (notice the unit shoulder patches).

 

The reason for this post featuring a unique American home guard unit is that the regiment was also authorized to carry the feared Filipino bolo.

 

A bolo is a large agricultural cutting tool from the Philippines similar to the machete and like the machete, the bolo has also been used for generations as a weapon.

 

However, unlike machetes which traditionally have been factory-made, authentic bolos are handmade. In the case of the ones used by the Kauai Volunteers, the blades were made from old automobile springs and they sported fancy personalized handles thus no two bolos were alike. Notice on the pictures that even the officers (mostly retired US military men) wore bolos on their belt.

 

This post is collaboration by Charlie Flick, Frank Trzaska and me. If anyone has more information to add, please, be our guest!

 

 

 

Thank you for a great addition. Joe

[gunbarrel]

Thanks, guys!

[kiaiokalewa]

Thanks, guys!

 

 

Aloha, The Kauai Historical Society had Tim Klass complete a study on Kauai during WWII and the result was "World War II on Kauai". For those that live here on Hawaii this book is available in the Hawaii State Library System. This reference goes into great depth on the Kauai Volunteers. Life Magazine does a great job with the photos and shows some great detail. The mounted troops are part of Kauai Volunteers Troop A. Plantation Manager Alan Eric Faye of Waimea Sugar Mill Co., Ltd. was the 1st Lt. At the Rice Museum in Kahalui there is the several uniforms with rank insignia and the SSI. The biggest surprise is the KV guidon and the photo collection there.

[kiaiokalewa]

Thanks for posting this excellent set of photos. Much of my family is from Molokai & Lanai, and though I've been aware of the Kauai Volunteers I've never come across any of their indigenous Bolos, uniforms, ephemera, etc. I agree that there may be a few Bolos still around that have not been worn to the nub by 60 odd years of field/yard work, but the odds of someone coming across one AND knowing exactly what it is ......

 

Well, there's the challenge, eh?

 

Aloha, Since your family is from both of these Islands I suppose you already know that they fell under the Maui Volunteers organization. One Island was the 1st Battalion and the other the 2nd Battalion. There are two types of Maui Volunteer insignia one being of a shield shape and the other is circular. I've never been able to confirm this but it is my belief that the circular type was for these two islands and the shield style was reserved for the volunteers on the island of Maui. Maybe some of your family can recall this small detail. Mahalo, John

[gunbarrel]

Kiaiokalewa,

 

Here are a couple more photos I found that may also be of interest to you. I read that in, 1898 National Guard of Hawaii was converted into the Hawaii Territorial Guard. The Territorial Guard was disbanded in 1942 and the Hawaii Army National Guard was formed. These photos were taken right before the HTG was disbanded.

 

[gunbarrel]

This kid looks like he is all of 16.

 

[gunbarrel]

[Gregory]

Hello,

 

Is there any chart with ranks, patches, badges etc. of those Hawaiian soldiers?

[DRE66]

Relaxed grooming standards?

[seanmc1114]

October 1942