In 1854, seven years before the start of the American Civil war, King Kamehameha III established the militia of the Kingdom of Hawaii.

He put together the first well-organized fighting force, equipped with modern weapons, capable of defending the islands should the need arise.

The need never arose.

But the kingdom fell anyhow several decades later when a group of mostly American-born businessmen formed the Republic of Hawaii in 1893 after a bloodless coup.

Ten days after the overthrow, the republic established the Hawaii National Guard from elements of a paramilitary group known as the Honolulu Rifles and the Hawaii Militia.

In 1898 the United States annexed the Hawaiian Islands, and on June 14, 1900, the Hawaii National Guard took the oath of allegiance to the United States, officially making it a part of the U.S. military.

During the early years of the 20th century, the Hawaii Guard's ranks swelled as young men scrambled to prove their American patriotism.

When war broke out in Europe in 1914 the number of soldiers in the Hawaii Guard quickly exceeded 5,000, as joining the Guard was seen as the surest way to join the fight.

By 1916 more than a quarter of all men of eligible age in Hawaii were drilling Guardsmen. Virtually the entire Hawaii Guard mobilized for World War I in June 1918, but the fighting in Europe ceased before the Hawaii troops would arrive on European shores.

The Hawaii National Guard was again called to active duty in October 1940, as German troops rolled over Europe and Japanese forces were ominously poised to strike further in the Asia-Pacific region.

Most Hawaii Guardsmen remained mobilized on active duty for the next five years.

On Dec. 7, 1941, as the Japanese Imperial Navy attacked Pearl Harbor and other military installations on Oahu, Guardsmen manned shore batteries and gun emplacements along Oahu's windward beaches.

They engaged Japanese fighter-bombers with antiaircraft fire and were likely responsible for downing several enemy aircraft during the chaotic battle.

The following day, Guardsmen quickly swarmed a two-man Japanese sub off the coast of Bellows Air Station. One sailor committed suicide before capture, but Guardsmen captured the other-the first Japanese World War II prisoner.

Officials eventually recovered the sub and used it on a morale-boosting tour of the mainland as a backdrop at war bond drives and rallies.

Because of the prejudice that existed at the time, Army command ordered the Guard to drop Americans of Japanese descent from their roles a few days after the Dec. 7 attack. However, this cadre of Japanese-Americans later formed the nucleus of the famed 100th Battalion.

The all-Japanese-American unit became the most highly decorated U.S. Army battalion in World War II. Today, the Army Reserve's 100th Battalion retains its historic ties with the Hawaii Guard-the only Army Reserve combat arms unit attached to an Army National Guard infantry brigade upon mobilization.

By 1943 other Hawaii Guard ethnic groups-Hawaiians, Chinese, Koreans, Filipinos, Portuguese and Hooks-Hawaiian for "newcomer," but usually referring to Caucasians-had attached to the Army's 24th Infantry Division and served in the South Pacific, including Guadalcanal, for the duration of the war.

The Hawaii Army Guard reorganized into two regimental combat teams after the war: the 298th and the 299th. In addition, the Hawaii Air National Guard (HIANG) was also born. A cadre of about 350 former Army Air Corps flyers and maintainers formed the Territory of Hawaii Air National Guard (THANG) in September 1946. From its humble beginnings, the Hawaii Air Guard grew into one of the largest and most diverse Air Guard organizations in the nation.

Its early days were perhaps a harbinger of how today's 154th Wing would eventually evolve into a composite wing with three different flying platforms. By 1947 the THANG's inventory included P-47 fighters, B-26 bombers and C-46 transports. In 1953 the THANG added F-86 Saber jets and in 1956 assumed the air defense mission for the territory.

As Hawaii became a full-fledged state in 1959, the Army Guard employed Mike-Hercules missiles from launch pads in remote areas of Oahu.

In 1965 the Army Guard's infantry battalions became the 29th Infantry Brigade. Three years later, in May 1968, the 29th was one of four Army Guard infantry brigades called to active duty during the Vietnam Vter. Of the 4,000 soldiers mobilized, 1,100 were divided among various active-duty units and used as replacements in Southeast Asia.

Twenty Hawaii Army Guardsmen paid the ultimate price before the 29th's demobilization in 1969. Guard commanders vowed that the 29th would train and deploy as a unit if ever mobilized again.

In 1969 Hawaii Air Guard F-102 fighter pilots began 90-day "Palace Alert" rotations to South Vietnam, escorting U.S. bombers. It was the first time the U.S. Air Force used a rotational process similar to today's Air Expeditionary Force cycles and Air Guard "Rainbow" deployments.

As the U.S. military transformed to an all-volunteer Total Force in 1973, the Hawaii Army Guard began a long-standing relationship with the active duty's 25th Infantry Division (Light) at Schofield Barracks. The 29th Infantry Brigade became a "roundout" brigade of the division.

That designation remained until 1986 when the 29th became a separate infantry brigade. It was one of the nation's 15 Enhanced Readiness Brigades in 1993.

As the Hawaii Guard grew and changed throughout the 1990s, Army Guard aviation units traded in their UH1H Hueys and Cobra attack helicopters to form new UH-60 Black Hawk and CH-47 Chinook units.

Hawaii Air Guardsmen also stood up a new KC-135 refueling squadron and a C-130 Hercules transport squadron to complement its F-15 Eagle fighters.

The 199th Fighter Squadron flew two Operation Northern Witch rotations over Iraq in the 1990s and deployed to Saudi Arabia in 2000 for Operation Southern Witch.

The 203rd Air Refueling Squadron was combat certified 18 months after receiving its first KC-135. Called time and again over the years the 203rd flew refueling sorties over Bosnia in 1995, refueled B-52 bombers heading to Iraq in 1996 and 1998 and was back over Bosnia in 1997.

In March 1999, the unit deployed to Istres, France, and became the Air Force's lead refuelers for Operation Allied Force, the NATO effort to protect ethnic Albanians in Kosovo.

The 204th Airlift Squadron now is cashing in its C-DOs for new C-17 Globemasters (Story page 57). The unit will soon become the first C-17 Air Guard/active-duty associate unit and possess the first strategic airlift capability within the U.S. Pacific Air Forces (PACAF). In addition, the 201st Combat Communications Squadron will partner its resources with PACAF employing its Eagle Vision satellite imagery equipment.

Since 9/11 more than 3,500 Hawaii Guardsmen have been called to active duty for Operations Noble Eagle, Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom.

Airmen have deployed to Saudi Arabia, Qatar, South Asia for tsunami relief and currently have a team in Afghanistan. Other airmen have volunteered for numerous deployments, including convoy protection missions with the U.S. Army and as air traffic controllers in Iraq.

The Army Guard's Company B, 193rd Aviation unit performed back-to-back yearlong rotations maintaining helicopters in Afghanistan, and earlier this year its sister unit, the Company C, 193rd Aviation, concluded a yearlong deployment in Iraq.

Its CH-47 Chinook helicopters flew more than 6,000 combat hours and transported Saddam Hussein from one undisclosed location to another for his first court appearance.

Currently, the entire 29th Brigade Combat Team provides theater protection for coalition forces in Iraq and Kuwait. Also, a Hawaii Army Guard public affairs detachment and an engineer detachment each are serving for a year in Afghanistan.

At its peak earlier this year, five out of every six Hawaii Army Guardsmen were deployed throughout U.S. Central Command's area of responsibility.

Although the number of soldiers deployed has decreased since then, most are still overseas.

Today, Hawaii's close connection to the traditions of the past continues through the Hawaii Air Guard's Ceremonial Royal Guard.

Wearing uniforms and carrying rifles that are exact replicas of those used by King Kalakaua's guard in the 1880s, the Hawaii Guard maintains its rich heritage and close affinity with Hawaiian warriors of the past.

Ceremonial Royal Guardsmen remind visitors and the people of Hawaii of the state's roots dating back to the days of the Hawaiian monarchy.

© 2005 National Guard Association of the United States Provided by ProQuest LLC. All Rights Reserved.