Fort DeRussy - Honolulu, HI - People-Named Places on Waymarking.com

At first glance this hardly appears to be a military installation at all, but it is indeed that, but on the recreational side for military personnel with large sections open to the public from 5:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.

There are large expanses of well-maintained green space with open areas, gardens, banyan trees and visiting egrets. the southern edge borders the white sands of Waikiki beach.

Significant features of Fort DeRussy are:

Kuroda Field - honoring Robert Kuroda, Medal of Honor Recipient
Brothers in Valor Memorial - honoring Japanese-American army units of WWII
U.S. Army Museum of Hawaii - the former Battery Randolph
Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies - U.S. DOD academic institute opened Sept. 4, 1995
The Fort Chapel
Morale, Welfare and Recreation Center
Hale Koa Hotel - opened in 1975 serving armed forces personnel

Fort DeRussy is located on the site of the former Afong Villa, and the Kalia Fishponds. The land was acquired in 1908. In 1911 two batteries were constructed to defend the coastline from invasion - and Battery Randolph. Only the latter remains and now houses the U.S. Army Hawaii Museum. The area of the fishponds was filled in and the fort officially opened in 1915. In 1950 the last of the big guns were removed, which were never used in combat, and the installation became a recreation facility.

THE PERSON

The fort was named for General René Edward De Russy (February 22, 1789 – November 23, 1865) who oversaw many of the Atlantic coast defenses. There are four other facilities named Fort Derussy, built during the U.S. Civil War era and some named for his brother, Lewis

General René Edward De Russy was actually born in the French colony of Saint-Domingue some years before the revolt that led to its establishment of the free Republic of Haiti. But, at age 2 the family moved to Virginia, and he later would graduate from the U.S. Military Academy in 1812, where he would return some 21 years later to serve as superintendent for five years.

As an engineer he oversaw the construction of many military installations on both the east coast and west coast of the United States, and when he died at age 75 in San Francisco, he was oldest graduate of the Military Academy on active duty.

Source: Wikipedia René Edward De Russy

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