National Park Service Provides Grant to Preserve Hawai‘i Battlefield

Burning aircraft, Ewa Field, Dec. 7, 1941. PC: NPS

The National Park Service announced on Aug. 16, 2018, the distribution of a $63,000 American Battlefield Protection Program grant to the American Veterans in Hawai‘i for a research and documentation project.

The American Veterans will use the grant to research and catalog historic maps and photos to document and identify the location of the Ewa Plain Battlefield. In addition to being a part of the World War II surprise attack by the Imperial Japanese Navy in December of 1941, the Ewa Plain airfield acted as a major staging area for the Battle of Coral Sea and the pivotal Battle of Midway.

The grants are administered by the National Park Service’s American Battlefield Protection Program, one of more than a dozen programs in the National Park Service that provide states and local communities with technical assistance, recognition, and funding to help preserve history and create educational and recreational opportunities.

Federal, tribal, state, and local governments, nonprofit organizations and institutions of higher education are eligible for these grants, which are awarded on an annual basis. Since 1996, the American Battlefield Protection Program has awarded 600 grant awards totaling $20,663,955 to help preserve significant historic battlefields associated with wars on American soil.