The Tropic Lightning Museum is a worthwhile stop for anyone on Oahu. Admission is free, the general public welcome. Without base access, you will need to enter Lyman Gate (main entrance) with all of your current car paperwork, ID, and a willingness to briefly suspend your belief in the fourth amendment, and obtain a visitor pass.
Museum highlights
The museum covers WWII, Korea, and Vietnam in a smaller space than the US Army Museum in Waikiki does, but the exhibits and displayed artifacts are equally interesting. This museum gives more space to WWI, the battles of Guadalcanal and Luzon (possibly), and views WWII through the lens of the 25th Infantry Division (and its predecessor Hawaiian Division). First-hand war stories penned by veterans, tribute to Medal of Honor recipients, the room on Schofield's history, the stories behind the patch designs, the WWI-era bed display complete with centipede, and the building itself and surrounding environs are unique stand-outs. You will learn where the names Tropic Lightning, Schofield, and many others you see on base come from. And did you know the patches are taro leaves?
Even if you cannot make it to the museum before it closes, it is worth visiting for the self-guided tours of the surrounding area (brochures available at the museum entrance; more on this below).
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| The restored library today. |
Historic former library
The museum is housed in a beautiful historic former library renovated (perhaps at least partially restored) into a museum in 1984. General William G.H. Carter was instrumental in getting the library built in 1915. The exterior walls are made of lava rock quarried from then-nearby Kemo'o Farms making it either the only, or one of the only, buildings constructed this way on base. The building was expanded in 1939. A plaque at the building entrance provides more information on the building's history. When you enter the museum, the left room certainly has the feel of a contemporary museum, but walking to the right wing is like stepping back in time into a cozy early twentieth century library complete with fireplace and replica wood flooring. If they served hot cocoa here on a rainy day in the company of General Carter the cat, one would want to move in permanently.
Self-guided walking tour
The museum's building is not the only historic building on base. In fact, the museum provides a self-guided walking tour of the surrounding historic buildings and structures. Among them: Funston and Macomb Gate; plantation style homes that include the former 1930s era residences of General Patton and Omar Bradley; D, E, and F Quads; Conroy Bowl; National Historic Register-listed Soldiers' Chapel; and Post Office (1939). If you have the time and this interests you, I recommend walking this loop before visiting the museum. You can see old photos of some of these sites in the museum and pick up the tour guide in front the museum.
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| If you take the walking tour, you will pass the quad buildings pictured on the left in this photo ca. 1929. Photo credit: UH Manoa Hamilton Library. |
Exceptional Trees
The museum also provides information on the location of Schofield's Exceptional Trees, an official City designation. The brochure says this area was deforested in the 1800s for the sandalwood trade and firewood (I expect the latter was a much lesser contributor, but could be wrong) and from the presence of cattle, and that tree planting efforts began in 1925 and continued through WWII. Trees were provided by HSPA, the City, and The Outdoor Circle. Among those on the brochure list: ear pods (Enterolobium cyclocarpum), mahogany (Swietenia macrophylla; not swamp mahogany!), narra (Pterocarpus indicus), white ash (Fraxinus americana; an American hardwood!), hoop pine (Araucaria cunninghamii), ethnobotanically interesting Kassod (Senna siamea), Kamani (Calophyllum inophyllum; not false kamani!), pogada (Mimusops elengi), Mexican fan palms (Washingtonia robusta), cabbage palms (Roystonea oleracea), skunk tree (Sterculia foetida; apparently they stink and are named after the Roman god for manure). You can see some of these trees on the self-guided walking tour described above.
Post Cemetery
Not far from the museum is the Post Cemetery which received its first interment in 1912. Casualties in this area on Dec. 7, 1941 were initially buried here before being relocated to Punchbowl. Arguably the most intriguing thing to see here are the dishonored American soldiers and Italian POWs located behind hedges that somewhat separate them from the rest of the burials here and block their headstones from view. Some that served in WWI are also buried here. A brochure at the museum will point out more of the cemetery's points of interest.
Kolekole Pass
Currently not fully accessible, however, a short and relatively easy hike accessible from the beginning of this road leads to an extraordinary viewpoint.
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| Clothing hanger from the 27th Infantry Tailor Shop, Schofield Barracks, T.H. displayed in the Tropic Lightning Museum. |