Fort Shafter is where the Home of the Brave Tour visits for an all-you-can-eat lunch buffet at the Hale Ikena (translates to House with a View on the golf course on base) and a stop along the historic Palm Circle and a visit inside the USARPAC (United States Army Pacific) VIP Headquarters entrance.
Construction began in 1905 and when the post opened in 1907, it was named for Major General William Rufus Shafter, who led the United States expedition to Cuba in 1898.
War came to Fort Shafter on 7 December 1941, where the Hawaiian Department commander, Lieutenant General Walter C. Short, lived. One soldier, Corporal Arthur A. Favreau, was killed on post by an errant Navy shell. Fort Shafter became a busy headquarters and the barracks on Palm Circle were converted to offices. The major headquarters was named successively U.S. Army Forces, Central Pacific Area (1943-44); U.S. Army Forces, Pacific Ocean Areas (1944-45); and U.S. Army Forces, Middle Pacific (1945-47). In 1944 the Army Corps of Engineers erected the "Pineapple Pentagon" (buildings T-100, T-101, and T-102) in just 49 days! The photo below shows Richardson Hall, named after General Robert Richardson who ended marshall law in the Hawaiian Islands and instilled the US Army Art Project which you learn about and see aboard the tour!
Today Fort Shafter remains the focal point for command, control, and support of Army forces in the Asia-Pacific region.
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