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This Training Area on the Flank of a Dormant Volcano Has Been a Maneuver Area for Marines for Almost Six Decades.
When one mentions PTA to the average Pacific-based Marine, he knows that the Parent Teacher Association is not under discussion. Instead, the reference is to the Pohakuloa Training Area, a wild expanse of lava and red volcanic dust located on the side of a volcano.
The word "Pohakuloa" comes from two Hawaiian words: pohaku, meaning stone or rock, and loa, translating as long or lengthy. PTA is varied real estate that covers 108,000 acres on the flank of Mauna Kea, the dormant volcano that rears its bulk more than 13,000 feet above sea level. The area is under control of the Commander, U.S. Army Garrison Hawaii, but currently the property reportedly is utilized more by Marines than all other U.S. services.
The base camp for the training site covers 758 acres on gently sloping land. Half a mile away, along what is called the Saddle Road, is Bradshaw Army Airfield. Built in 1956, the aviation complex covers 422 acres and can handle not only helicopters and light aircraft but also prop-driven KC-130 and C-17 transport aircraft.
During World War II, the Marine Corps controlled the training area and used it to train and rebuild the Second Marine Division, when the remnants of that unit arrived on the Big Island after the costly amphibious assault and capture of Tarawa. A mammoth tent camp for the division was erected on the edge of the town of Waimea. The camp was several miles from the beaches where most supplies were landed, but in that area there was not sufficient rugged terrain for proper training, according to evaluations of the time.
The planners found an area on stateowned land that they felt would be sufficiently demanding. Located at 7,500 feet, the base camp consisted initially of only a few tents. The WW II Marines who were to train there invariably marched from Camp Tarawa, their own encampment, to PTA. This was a distance of more than 20 miles.
The 2dMarDiv trained in the rugged lava terrain for the invasion of Saipan. When the troops departed for that campaign, Camp Tarawa's tents were filled almost immediately by troops...