Pearl Harbor was originally an extensive shallow embayment called Wai Momi (meaning, “Waters of Pearl”) or Pu'uloa (meaning, “long hill”) by the Hawaiians. Pu'uloa was regarded as the home of the shark goddess, Ka'ahupahau, and her brother (or son), Kahi'uka, in Hawaiian legends. According to tradition, Keaunui, the head of the powerful Ewa chiefs, is credited with cutting a navigable channel near the present Pu'uloa saltworks, by which he made the estuary, known as "Pearl River," accessible to navigation. Making due allowance for legendary amplification, the estuary already had an outlet for its waters where the present gap is; but Keaunui is typically given the credit for widening and deepening it.
Time passed. Pearl Harbor was attacked on Dec. 7, 1941, by the Imperial Japanese Navy, killing almost 2,500 people and sinking the main American battleship fleet. While we acknowledge the 79th anniversary of the event today, it’s odd to think to the characters it was an event happening 10 to 15 years before.
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