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Local Story: The Massie-Kahahawai Case and the Culture of History
The Massie-Kahahawai case of 1931–1932 shook the Territory of Hawai‘i to its very core. Thalia Massie, a young Navy wife, alleged that she had been kidnapped and raped by “some Hawaiian boys” in Waikīkī. A few days later, five young men stood accused of her rape. Mishandling of evidence and contradictory testimony led to a mistrial, but before a second trial could be convened, one of the accused, Horace Ida, was kidnapped and beaten by a group of Navy men and a second, Joseph Kahahawai, lay dead from a gunshot wound. Thalia’s husband, Thomas Massie; her mother, Grace Fortescue; and two Navy men were convicted of the lesser charge of manslaughter, despite witnesses who saw them kidnap Kahahawai and the later discovery of his body in Massie’s car. Under pressure from Congress and the Navy, territorial governor Lawrence McCully Judd commuted their sentences. After spending only an hour in the governor’s office at ‘Iolani Palace, the four were set free.
Local Story is a close examination of how Native Hawaiians, Asian immigrants, and others responded to challenges posed by the military and federal government during the case’s investigation and aftermath. In addition to providing a concise account of events as they unfolded, the book shows how this historical narrative has been told and retold in later decades to affirm a local identity among descendants of working-class Native Hawaiians, Asians, and others―in fact, this understanding of the term “local” in the islands dates from the Massie-Kahahawai case. It looks at the racial and sexual tensions in pre–World War II Hawai‘i that kept local men and white women apart and at the uneasy relationship between federal and military officials and territorial administrators. Lastly, it examines the revival of interest in the case in the last few true crime accounts, a fictionalized TV mini-series, and, most recently, a play and a documentary―all spurring the formation of new collective memories about the Massie-Kahahawai case.
Local Story is a close examination of how Native Hawaiians, Asian immigrants, and others responded to challenges posed by the military and federal government during the case’s investigation and aftermath. In addition to providing a concise account of events as they unfolded, the book shows how this historical narrative has been told and retold in later decades to affirm a local identity among descendants of working-class Native Hawaiians, Asians, and others―in fact, this understanding of the term “local” in the islands dates from the Massie-Kahahawai case. It looks at the racial and sexual tensions in pre–World War II Hawai‘i that kept local men and white women apart and at the uneasy relationship between federal and military officials and territorial administrators. Lastly, it examines the revival of interest in the case in the last few true crime accounts, a fictionalized TV mini-series, and, most recently, a play and a documentary―all spurring the formation of new collective memories about the Massie-Kahahawai case.
176 pages, Paperback
First published May 31, 2014
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
May 30, 2016
Such a tragedy. I like how this book looks at how it affected local culture.
April 16, 2021
Rather dry, text book-like. I expect this is on the college book list. Still, it's quite informative.
The Massie-Kahahawai Case unwraps an alleged rape of a white woman--the wife of a U.S. Naval officer--a trial that acquitted the young men of color including Hawaiians, Japanese and one Chinese-Hawaiian, and the subsequent murder of one of the alleged rapists (Joseph Kahahawai) by white Navy soldiers and accomplices. To add insult to injury, after the jury found the soldiers guilty, the governor, acting under pressure from the mainland and the Navy, commuted the sentence to "one hour" served in his office!
The author provides details of the case, the trial, the penalty, the personalities, and the racial pressures on the islands as he describes how this case helped establish a particular Hawaiian identity that reflected the racial attitudes of the mainland USA.
The Massie-Kahahawai Case unwraps an alleged rape of a white woman--the wife of a U.S. Naval officer--a trial that acquitted the young men of color including Hawaiians, Japanese and one Chinese-Hawaiian, and the subsequent murder of one of the alleged rapists (Joseph Kahahawai) by white Navy soldiers and accomplices. To add insult to injury, after the jury found the soldiers guilty, the governor, acting under pressure from the mainland and the Navy, commuted the sentence to "one hour" served in his office!
The author provides details of the case, the trial, the penalty, the personalities, and the racial pressures on the islands as he describes how this case helped establish a particular Hawaiian identity that reflected the racial attitudes of the mainland USA.
March 5, 2022
important read to understand the unease and wariness that some Hawaii locals feel towards haoles (foreigners) or the US military. discusses the how "local" identity was created in Hawai'i.
trigger warning for detailed descriptions of sexual assault allegations and violent murder of an Indigenous man.
trigger warning for detailed descriptions of sexual assault allegations and violent murder of an Indigenous man.
November 22, 2025
3.75
Read like a textbook. It was interesting to see how this case kind of shaped “local identity” in Hawaii. Also interesting to hear about a somewhat similar case that happened in the 30s to the Central Park 5 case that occurred in the late 80s.
Read like a textbook. It was interesting to see how this case kind of shaped “local identity” in Hawaii. Also interesting to hear about a somewhat similar case that happened in the 30s to the Central Park 5 case that occurred in the late 80s.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews