John Rodgers Terminal - 25 Years - Honolulu, HI
Posted by: 
silverquill
N 21° 19.858 W 157° 55.209
4Q E 611983 N 2359161
This Kukui Nut tree was planted to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the John Rodgers Terminal at what is now Honolulu International Airport. It is located in the cultural gardens south of the main terminal building.
Waymark Code: WMDT86
Location: Hawaii, United States
Date Posted: 02/21/2012
Views: 5
KUKUI NUT TREE PLANTED IN
COMMEMORATION OF THE
25TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE
JOHN RODGERS TERMINAL
HONOLULU INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT
OCTOBER 15, 1987
The John Rodgers Airport was dedicated March 21, 1927, serving as Hawaii's major airport until the present. Following legislation in keeping with the need to name airports for their location, the name was changed to Honolulu Airport on May 2, 1947. The International terminal was dedicated on August 22, 1962 and named the John Rodgers Terminal.
This kukui nut tree is located in the cultural gardens south of the main terminal building.
Though John Rodgers graduated from the Naval academy in 1903, and had a distinguished career, he is probably best known for his attempt to fly from California to Hawaii in 1925.
"On August 31, 1925 at 2:55 p.m., Commander John Rodgers and his crew left San Pablo Bay, San Francisco in Navy PN-9 No. 1 to attempt the first flight across the Pacific Ocean from the Mainland U.S. to Hawaii. The plane was forced to land in the ocean at 4:15 p.m. September 1 after running out of fuel about 365 miles from Oahu.
After three days of waiting to be picked up, the heroic crew crafted sails from the wings of the plane and sailed toward Hawaii. Their food supply was exhausted after the third day and their water ran out on the sixth day at sea. On the tenth day, they spotted Kauai. Ten miles off shore they encountered a submarine which towed them safely into Ahukini Harbor and a heroes welcome. The 1,841.12 statute miles flown from August 31 to their forced landing on September 1 was accepted by the F.A. I. as a new world airline distance record for Class C seaplanes that remained unbeaten for almost five years." From: Hawaii Aviation
John Rodgers (15 January 1881 – 27 August 1926) was the great-grandson of Commodores Rodgers and Perry, and a pioneer of naval aviation. In September 1911 he assembled a crated Wright Model B-1 aircraft delivered by Orville Wright in Annapolis, Maryland thus pioneering flight within the Navy. He had a distinguished career in the navy including command Division 1, Submarine Force, Atlantic Fleet in 1916, and command of the Submarine Base in Groton, Connecticut. He died in 1926 when a plane that he was testing in hopes of making another attempt to fly to Hawaii, suddenly crashed into the Delaware River. Source: Wikipedia John Rodgers (naval officer, World War I)