BRIEF HISTORICAL TIMELINE OF BELLOWS

Waimānalo Military Reservation was established by Presidential Executive Order. The land was leased from Waimānalo Sugar Plantation.

The land was renamed Bellows Field, honoring the memory of Second Lieutenant Franklin Barney Bellows, a World War I hero. On August 19, 1933, General Douglas MacArthur memorialized individuals for their extraordinary heroism by naming flying fields in their honor. “The auxiliary flying field at Waimanalo Military Reservation, Territory of Hawaii, is designated as Bellows Field in honor of Second Lieutenant Franklin Barney Bellows, 50th Aero Squadron.” Lieutenant Bellows was posthumously awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for extraordinary heroism and his actions during a reconnaissance mission on September 13, 1918, near Saint Mihiel, France.

Bellows Field became a separate permanent military post under the jurisdiction of the Commanding General, Hawaiian Department.

The first beach cabins began construction.

The runways were closed and Bellows Field became Bellows Air Force Station.

Bellows was listed on the National Register of Historic Places for archeological significance. Artifacts found here proved that the land was one of the oldest places of human habitation in the Hawaiian Islands.

Detachment 2, 18th Force Support Squadron presently operates Bellows Air Force Station. Much of the Waimanalo community remains the same as it was more than 50 years ago.