Remembering Pearl Harbor: Wayne Brumaghim
— Submitted by UH alumnus Wayne Hinano Brumaghim (UH Mānoa, BA, 2009, MA, 2011; Leeward CC, AA, 2007)
My name is Wayne Hinano Brumaghim. I was born on December 25, 1942, in Honolulu, T.H. On Sunday morning, December 7, 1941, my grandparents (Paul Centennial Brede, 1876-1963; Minnie Bailey Brede,1881-1961) lived in McCully at 1402 Farrington Street, which was located at the intersection of Bingham and Farrington Streets. In 1941 and prior to the construction of the first freeway in Honolulu in the 1950s, this area was known as “Bingham Tract.”
During the chaos that was Pearl Harbor, a stray “bomb or shell” landed across this intersection and onto the driveway of Dr. Sia. Fortunately, the device did not detonate, but it did blow a hole in Dr. Sia’s driveway. Having lived through the 1893 coup d`etat, two Chinatown fires, the U.S. annexation of Hawai‘i and the “bubonic plague” of 1900, my grandparents described this experience as the worst ever! Essentially, the “projectile” passed loudly over the top of the family home, where my mother (Edith) and her three brothers (Hopke, Lawrence, Paul, Jr.) lived along with other family members. To this day I am certain that had this “instrument of war” done its duty, I would not be here today along with the families in the other three homes at the intersection of Bingham and Farrington Streets! Imagine, in an instant, the loss of four family histories/genealogies...forevermore!
*Submission has been slightly edited for clarity purposes.