Army confers with community
about unexploded bomb

By Pat Omandam
Star-Bulletin

The military has asked Waianae residents what to do with an unexploded 125-pound bomb discovered in Makua Valley.

It is part of the Army's effort to include native Hawaiians in archaeological decisions made about the valley, which Hawaiians say contain many sacred sites such as the Ukanipo Heiau.

Clarence A. DeLude of Koa Moana, who represents a group of native families from the Waianae Coast, said the Army on Tuesday invited a few of them into Makua Valley to view the World War II bomb.

DeLude said Army officials wanted to know from kupuna whether they should detonate the bomb on site or move it to a safer location. The ordnance was located between two features of an archeological site.

"What they usually do is try and control the explosion as much as possible, but they want to leave it there and explode it," DeLude said.

"But some in our group said, 'No, move it out of here' because they did say the surrounding rocks would be pulverized into dust and the vibrations into the ground may cause damage," he said.

DeLude said the Army is considering their suggestions.

Archaeologist Laurie Lucking of the U.S. Army Garrison in Hawaii said the Army has begun a program to survey, inventory and evaluate sites in Makua for possible eligibility on the National Register of Historic Places.

Only 30 percent of the valley has been surveyed, with 41 sites discovered to date, she said.

One Makua site already placed on the register since 1984 is the Ukanipo Heiau, which was officially restored to Hawaiian use this past March.

Lucking said the 1978 American Indian Religious Freedom Act requires the military give priority to restoring access to religious sites on military property.

The Army consulted the Waianae community to ensure proper protocol was used and that the 1.2-acre site was properly cleared for what Hawaiians wanted to do there, she said.

Lucking stressed the area has been swept for ordnance and is safe for them to use.

"It's the first time that native Hawaiians have been able to go back to the heiau," she said. "Since then, we have kept an open policy that they could go whenever they felt like it."

Brush fires near the heiau this past March cleared away tall grass and shrub, exposing more archaeological sites than had been surveyed in 1980.

"We discovered the site itself is much more extensive than we'd initially anticipated, and there are other sites in close proximity that we were unaware because of this tall grass. That area is not used for training, so it hasn't been cleared for a long time," Lucking said.

She said the goal is to remove all ordnance on the site and eventually include it as part of the heiau complex.

An Ukanipo Heiau Advisory Group has been formed to ensure community input.

DeLude said the Army has been very cooperative regarding archeological sites in the valley, many of which he believes date back hundreds of years.

"I think they connect with us because they're hoping someone is taking care of their place back home," DeLude said of the Army representatives responsible for the Makua sites.

"We are all Americans, so they understand."