Places on Oahu: The Tropic Lightning Museum

BASIC INFORMATION

• Name: Tropic Lightning Museum
• Where: Schofield Barracks, Hawaii
• Founded: October 28, 1957
• Hours: Tuesday-Saturday 10 a.m.-4 p.m.
• Cost: Free
• More Information: Tropic Lightning Museum website

Narrative

The largest Army base on the Hawaiian island of Oahu is Schofield Barracks.  The Army installation is located near the very center of the island just outside of Wahiawa:

Currently Schofield Barracks is home to the US Army’s 25th Infantry Division. The nickname for the unit is the “Tropic Lightning” Division which refers back to its role of fighting the Imperial Japanese in the South Pacific during World War II.  To commemorate the history of the 25th Infantry Division, the Tropic Lightning Museum was established in 1957:

Unlike most other museums in Hawaii, admission to the Tropic Lightning Museum is free.  However, there is a catch; since it is located on a military base visitors will need military identification of a military friend to escort them on to Schofield Barracks.  A visit to the museum begins by viewing the static display of military equipment outside fo the museum such as this Sherman tank that saw service during World War II:

There is also a Vulcan anti-aircraft system on display that saw service during the Vietnam War:

Inside of the museum is quite small, but it is packed with a number of exhibits and the employees are quite eager to help answer any questions.

The museum’s building was originally used as the post Library back in 1915 and is the only building on Schofield Barracks built with lava rock:

Schofield Barracks was originally built in 1909 to provide ground defense for the increasingly important Pearl Harbor naval port on the south side of the island.

From the center of the island, ground troops from Schofield Barracks could be quickly dispatched to defend any area of the island.  All around Oahu are a number of bunkers that were constructed to defend the island; the bunkers were once mostly manned by troops from Schofield Barracks.

To transport troops and equipment to and from the base soldiers originally departed their boats at Honolulu Harbor and marched to Fort Shafter outside of Honolulu.  The next day the troops would then march with horse carrying their equipment to Schofield Barracks:

Eventually the Oahu Railroad & Land Company would connect Schofield to their rail network to speed up the process of moving troops and equipment:

The military base is named after Lieutenant General John McAllister Schofield, who was the Commanding General of the United States Army from 1888 to 1895.  Long before Schofield became Command General of the Army he had been sent to Hawaii in 1872 and was the person who recommended establishing a naval base at Pearl Harbor.  The importance of the military presence in Hawaii became clear when the Japanese attacked the island in 1941 to begin World War II:

During World War II the 25th Infantry Division conducted operations in the Pacific theater between 1942-1945.  Five years later the division was at war once again in Korea between 1950-1953.  The museum has displays for each war:

The museum also has a display about the occupation duty that the division executed in Japan after World War II.  The fact the division was conducting occupation duty in Japan is why it was rushed to fight in the chaotic first weeks of the Korean War:

All that action in two major wars meant the division received many Medal of Honor recipients:

Despite its gallant service of the 25th Infantry Division in both wars, Schofield Barracks will likely always be remembered for its part in the Pearl Harbor Bombing.  The adjacent Wheeler Army Airfield was one of the key targets of the Japanese attack because of the airplanes from the Army Air Corps that was parked there:

Besides providing a history about Schofield Barracks and the 25th Infantry Division, the Tropic Lightning Museum also has a display about the history of Wheeler Army Airfield:

Today Schofield Barracks and the 25th Infantry Division continue to be a major part of Oahu community and island life.

Conclusion

For military personnel stationed or visiting Schofield Barracks, the Tropic Lightning Museum is well worth checking out. However, for other people visiting Oahu, the difficulty of accessing Schofield Barracks makes this small museum not worth the hassle of seeing especially when the US Army Museum of Hawaii located in Waikiki can be visited by everyone, is much larger, and has similar displays.