Hawaii Air Depot Volunteer Corps Explained

Unit Name:	Hawaii Air Depot Volunteer Corps
Dates:	October 1942-4 July 1945
Country:	United States
Type:	Paramilitary
Role:	Anti-aircraft Firefighter Security EMS Mechanics
Size:	1,500
Garrison:	Hickam Air Force Base
Commander1:	Lt. Col Cecil J. Murphy
Commander1 Label:	Commanding Officer

The Hawaii Air Depot Volunteer Corps (HADVC) was a civilian Paramilitary unit at Hickam Air Force Base, Hawaii during World War II. The HADVC took on a wide variety of roles helping in the routine operations of the airfield. Along with the Businessmen's Military Training Corps (BMTC), Hawaii Defense Volunteers, Women's Army Volunteer Corps (WAVC), 1st Oahu Volunteer Infantry, and 2nd Oahu Volunteer Infantry, they formed the Organized Defense Volunteer Regiments.^[1] Surprisingly for a civilian militia, they had anti-aircraft guns in their arsenal.

History

The commanding officer of the HADVC was Lieutenant Colonel Cecil J Murphy.^[2] The unit was formed in October 1942^[3] with a total of 1,500 personnel.^[4]

Tasks

Tasks and duties that the HADVC conducted included:

• Anti-aircraft operations
• firefighting
• Conducting base security
• Chemical decontamination
• Providing EMS
• Working as aircraft mechanics
• Anti-sabotage work
• Evacuation duties of non-combatants.

See also

• Hawaii Territorial Guard

Notes and References

1. Web site: Hawaii War Records Depository HWRD 1372. Hawaii War Records Depository Photos. University of Hawaii at Manoa Library . 22 November 2017.
2. Web site: Hawaii War Records Depository HWRD 1329. Hawaii War Records Depository Photos. University of Hawaii at Manoa Library . 22 November 2017.
3. Book: Greenberg, Martin . 18 November 2005 . Citizens Defending America: From Colonial Times to the Age of Terrorism . registration . Hawaii Air Depot Volunteer Corps. . University of Pittsburgh Press . 7 . 9780822942641 .
4. Book: Stentiford, Barry . 4 June 2002 . The American Home Guard: The State Militia in the Twentieth Century . Texas A&M University Press . 151 . 9781585441815.