HILO THEATER in the 1940s

The war in the Pacific was on and the Hilo Theater on the Big Island of Hawaii was open to provide people a way to get the war off their minds. As you can see there are several servicemen  at the box office buying tickets to see Errol Flynn in Gentleman Jim. This movie came out in 1942.


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You can see another photo of the theater here at Kamaaina56. He provides the following information:

The old Hilo Theater opened 1940 and survived the 1946 Alaskan tsunami but sadly closed after being engulfed in the 1960 Chilean tsunami. (SOURCE: Kamaaina56)

I remember when the 1960 tusnami hit and the beautiful park in Hilo was destroyed. I'd been visiting it just a few months before it happened.

Just so the thought of the war wasn't too far away, the theater was also an air raid shelter.


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So let's get a feeling for what these guys were going to see.



And if you don't have time to wait around until the next movie, I Married a Witch, arrives on Wednesday, you can view it now.

The VETERANS AMONG US

These are the men we celebrate on Veterans Day. These are the men we celebrate on Memorial Day. The truth is that we have no idea how many of these young men never returned to their homes to share meals with their families, thus no idea which holiday is appropriate for each of them.


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I have no information about this photo, but can surmise it was taken of US troops during World War II in the Pacific theater. After having seen so many war movies it almost looks like a still from a Hollywood production. It could have been taken from the miniseries The Pacific.

Nearly hidden among all of these men, waiting for their rations, is one fellow who looks like every GI you've ever seen in a World War II movie. But these guys aren't in costume. These guys didn't have fancy trailers to go to between takes. These guys were walking in the mud, swatting the mosquitos, complaining about the food, and unsure what their futures held.

We remember this weekend, November 11th, those who have served our country in too many wars.

This is my submission for this weeks Sepia Saturday. The theme photo showed women working as telephone operators, part of a machine. I went with men working as part of a war machine.

WORLD WAR I THEATER mystery

This real photo post card is a companion piece to the last image I posted from World War I. Another mystery. I have no idea where it was taken.

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