Early Life in Hilo
Charles Kalaeloa was born on November 3, 1893, in Kealakekua, Hawaii. After completing public school in Hilo, he began working as a stevedore for the Matson Navigation Company, laboring on the Matson wharf in Hilo. His draft registration lists him as a natural-born U.S. citizen of Hawaiian ancestry, medium build with brown eyes and black hair【Draft Registration Card】.
Military Service and Sudden Illness
Charles was inducted into the U.S. Army on July 5, 1918, as a private. Sadly, before he could even be assigned to a unit or shipped out to serve abroad, he fell ill and died on July 11, 1918, in Honolulu—just six days after joining the military. The cause of death is not listed in the available records, but his inclusion on later memorials confirms he was considered among Hawaii’s war dead.
Remembering a Local Hero
Charles came from a family of public servants. His sister, Sarah Olili, and brothers—Henry Kalaeloa, a Hilo police officer, and George Kalaeloa, a Hawaii Consolidated Railway worker—were noted in his obituary.
Although his military career was tragically brief, Charles Kalaeloa’s name lives on. He is honored on the plaque at the Waikiki War Memorial Natatorium, listed among those who gave their lives in the Great War.
Sources Cited
- Legion Historian Assembling Data on Hawaii War Victims. (1921, April 10). Hilo Daily Tribune, 4. Retrieved from https://www.newspapers.com/image/555634295/
- City to Pay Hommage to War Dead. (1922, May 30). Hilo Daily Tribune, 6. Retrieved from https://www.newspapers.com/image/555837873/
- U.S. WWI Draft Registration Cards, Charles Kalaeloa, July 31, 1917. Hilo, Hawaii. 【Draft Registration Card】
