Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard
Two of Hawaii’s historic military bases will be merged this year as part of an effort to make the military more efficient by combining 26 installations nationwide. On February 1, 2010, military officials removed the chain-link fence separating Pearl Harbor Naval Station from Hickam Air Force Base, beginning a process of integration at the new Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam (JBPHH).
The missions of the two neighboring bases will remain separate, as the joint base will continue to service two distinct branches of the Armed Forces. However, installation management and support services will be combined. This merger comes as a result of a 2005 report by an independent panel on military bases, which recommended the merger of a number of bases around the country in order to save money on administrative and personnel costs. These savings will be put to work funding the military operations in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere.
Joint Base Will Encompass Many Historic Sites
Most people are well aware of Pearl Harbor’s historic role in World War II. More than 1000 sailors lost their lives during the infamous aerial attack on December 7, 1941, which launched the United States’ involvement in the War against the Axis powers.
In addition, Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard became the hub of maintenance and repair for Navy vessels in the Pacific theater. Thousands of Navy personnel and civilian shipyard workers toiled bravely to keep our country’s battleships, destroyers, carriers, submarines, and other vessels in fighting shape. The sacrifices of these brave men and women are memorialized at the USS Arizona Memorial, the Battleship Missouri Memorial, and the USS Bowfin Submarine Museum and Park.
Hickam Air Force Base also played a key role in World War II. The air station was another major target on December 7, 1941, as the Japanese strafed and bombed the U.S. aircraft there. The attackers killed 189 people at Hickam, and wounded 303 others. One of the Hickam barracks still bears the bullet holes from the Japanese machine guns.
Galiher DeRobertis Ono has represented numerous shipyard workers and Navy veterans who were exposed to asbestos on Navy vessels at Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard. We have also represented Air Force mechanics and civilian employees at Hickam, who were exposed to asbestos in the buildings or in the aircraft components. Tragically, these veterans and workers remain at an elevated risk for mesothelioma, lung cancer, and other asbestos-related diseases.
