Isle group lobbies for
Pearl Harbor WWII tug

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By Gregg K. Kakesako
gkakesako@starbulletin.com

A Hawaii group is one of five organizations seeking permission from the Navy for return of one of the last known survivors of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the tugboat Hoga.

Rita Wilkins, spokeswoman for the Naval Sea Systems Command, said yesterday following Thursday's deadline, the Honolulu-based Tugboat Hoga Preservation Society was among five organizations that filed applications with the Navy.

She said the Navy will now review applications "to see which meets its technical needs." The Navy has said those seeking a decommissioned naval vessel must show evidence of financing for the first five years of operation. Besides mooring, curatorial, financial and maintenance plans, the prospective recipient has to pay the costs of bringing the vessel to the islands.

That process could take anywhere from "months to years," Wilkins said. The secretary of the Navy will make the final determination.

Besides the Honolulu group, there are two Florida organizations, one in San Francisco and a group of backers of President Bill Clinton's library in Little Rock, Ark., vying for the tug. David Ford, president of the Honolulu group, said a planning meeting will be held at 6:30 p.m. Monday at the USS Bowfin Museum to lay out plans. "The meeting is open, and anyone interested is welcome to attend," Ford said.

Ford's group wants to use land between the USS Arizona and the USS Bowfin Museum as a permanent berth.

But the Navy has rejected the request, saying the site once used by the Ford Island ferry has been set aside for commercial development to pay for the cost of building new homes on the island. The Ford group is still trying to get permission to berth the tug there.

Ford said his group's first big task is to raise at least $250,000 of the $3 million to $5 million he believes it will take it bring the 63-year-old vessel here.

Ford said he has approached at least four commercial carriers to transport the tugboat here since it cannot be towed from the West Coast "because its hull is paper thin."

The Hoga, which means "fish" in Sioux, is berthed in the Navy's Inactive Ship Maintenance Facility in Suisun Bay north of San Francisco, where it was retired in 1996 after serving for five decades as a fireboat for the city of Oakland, Calif. It has been designated a national monument.

During the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the Hoga fought fires on the USS Arizona, Vestal, Nevada, Oglala, Maryland and Tennessee, rescuing sailors from the burning oily waters. It also pushed the USS Nevada ashore, preventing the battleship from blocking the harbor entrance.