AUGUST:

August 1:

On August 1, 1883, the Sisters of Our Lady of Oceania opened their first school at Leone, Tutuila. (Heslin 1995: 94)

On August 1, 1887, Joseph Webb and Henry Poor, representing Hawaiian King Kalakaua, met with Malietoa Laupepa at Sogi, Apia, to 
discuss the recall of Hawaiian Ambassador John E. Bush. (Theroux-Sorensen 02/23/94)

On August 1, 1900, U.S. Naval Station Tutuila Commandant Benjamin Franklin Tilley issued his "Regulation No. 13-1900: Instructions to 
Magistrates." (Noble 1931: 10-11)

On August 1, 1942, the U.S. Navy's Mobile Hospital No. 3 ("MOB 3") had 40 buildings (in Mapusaga, where the American Samoa 
Community College is now located), including an X-ray facility and a second operating room. There were 51 patients in the hospital, and 
many more beds were soon needed to accommodate the wounded from the Guadalcanal campaign, which began on August 7, 1942. 
(Parsons 1945: 97)

On August 1, 1942, the 22nd Marines debarked from SS Lurline in Apia Harbor. They came ashore in small boats, and "After the 
bedrolls and seabags had been placed on trucks, the company commanders ordered their men to fall in. Lieutenant Colonel Thomas D. Marks' 
2nd Battalion then moved out in heavy marching order. After passing through Apia, the column turned into a macadamized road leading in a 
southwesterly direction. They hiked about three miles before a halt was called. This was fortunate, because the nearly two weeks aboard ship 
had taken their toll, and a number of the men's asses were dragging...Soon after establishing their camp, Company E was visited by several 
Samoans. One of them, a middle age man, was suffering from an advanced case of elephantiasis--one of his legs, from the thigh to the toes, 
was swollen to several times its normal size. We were told of other extreme cases where the moomoo [i.e., mumu], as the Samoans called 
it," affected other parts of the body, causing them to swell to a huge size. (Bearss 1978-1981: 55)

On August 1, 1944, the Samoan Defense Group's area was extended to include bases on Bora Bora (Society Islands), Aitutaki and Penrhyn 
(Cook Islands). Its total area included the Samoan, Society, Cook, Ellice and Wallis islands, making it the largest Pacific Defense Group. 
"This area was defined as follows:

00-00 Lat170-00 East Longitude South to
06-00 South170-00 East, Thence to
10-00 South173-00 East, South to
13-00 South178-00 West, Thence to
20-00 South170-00 West, South to
28-00 South170-00 West, East to
28-00 South110-00 West, Thence to
00-00170-00 East--Less that area including the Phoenix Islands." 
(Burke 1945b: 75; Burke 1945c: 71)

On August 1, 1945, the U.S. "Naval garrison on the island of Upolu consisted of only a sufficient number of personnel to maintain an emergency 
airstrip at Faleola [sic], which is located approximately 20 miles west of Apia, the capital of British Samoa. All Naval personnel live at the airfield. 
There are eight enlisted men and one officer attached to the Naval Advance Base and ten enlisted men and one officer who are attached to the 
Naval Air Facilities. The officer and men attached to Naval Air Facilities are on temporary duty from the Air Facilities Unit located at Tafuna 
Airfield, Tutuila, American Samoa." (Burke 1945c: 6)

On August 1, 1962, a Treaty of Friendship was signed by Western Samoa's Prime Minister, Mata'afa Faumuina Fiame Mulinu'u II and 
New Zealand's former High Commissioner to Western Samoa, Sir Guy Powles, PhD. (Davidson 1967: 416;  WSFDC August 1, 1962)

On August 1, 1967, Owen Aspinall began his term as American Samoa's eighth appointed civil governor (until July 31, 1969). 
(ASG: Governors' List)

On August 1, 1969, John Morse Haydon, prominent Seattle Republican and publisher of the Marine Digest, who was appointed by 
Secretary of the Interior Walter Hickel as American Samoa's ninth civil governor, began his term of office (until October 15, 1974). 
(Haydon Papers 1969: Box 1)

August 2:                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         On August 2, 1929, Captain Gatewood Sanders Lincoln relieved Captain Stephen Victor Graham, and took office as American Samoa's 18th 
naval governor (until March 24, 1931). (USNHC: Lincoln RO)

August 3:

On August 3, 1881, Nathan Woodworth Post, American Samoa's eighth naval governor (acting: March 14-July 14, 1913 and 
October 2-December 6, 1914) was born in Fonda, Iowa. (USNHC: Post RO)

On August 3, 1938, USS Tutuila (PR-4) accompanied her sister ship USS Luzon (PR-7: the Yangtze Patrol flagship), carrying 
U.S. Ambassador Nelson T. Johnson up the Yangtze River to Chungking. (China's leader, Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek, had moved 
the capital to Chungking, out of the reach of the Japanese Army). (Mooney VII, 1981: 367)

August 4:

On August 4, 1900, Commander Benjamin Franklin Tilley, Commandant of the U.S. Naval station Tutuila, issued his 
"Regulation No. 14-1900: Instructions Concerning Police." (Noble 1931: 11)

On August 4, 1900, Edwin William Gurr was designated as Secretary to the Commandant of the Naval Station, and also as 
Judge and Legal Adviser. (Bryan 1927: 48; Theroux 1985b: 46)

On August 4, 1905, volcanic activity began on Savai'i's northwest coast, as Mount Matavanu erupted. The eruption 
"almost wiped out Lealatele district and much of Saleaula. People re-established in Leauvaa and Salamumu respectively. 
The volcano was active until September 1911." (Heslin 1995: v; Theroux 1985)

On August 4, 1919, French Marist Bishop Joseph Darnand was appointed Vicar Apostolic of Central Oceania and 
Administrator of Samoa. (Heslin 1995: vi)

On August 4, 1942, the U.S. Naval Station Tutuila received a heavy indicator net to replace the rapidly deteriorating 
light indicator net in Pago Pago Harbor. (Burke 1945b: 137)

August 5:

On August 5, 1875, Gatewood Sanders Lincoln, 18th naval governor of American Samoa (August 2, 1929-March 24, 1931 
and July 17, 1931-May 12, 1932), was born in Liberty, Missouri. (USNHC: Lincoln RO)

On August 5, 1878, U.S. Commissioner Gustavus W. Goward and some chiefs of Tutuila signed agreements transferring 
certain lands in Fagatogo to the U.S. Navy for use as a coaling station. Goward raised the American flag over Goat Island. 
(Gray 1960: 66)

On August 5, 1898, the U.S. Navy Department ordered civil engineer Frank T. Chambers to proceed to Tutuila to construct 
a wharf, coal shed and other buildings, including an administration building (which subsequently became the Courthouse: Navy 
Building No. 21). (Graf 1974)

On August 5, 1914, during a meeting in Apia to discuss German war strategies, Governor Dr. Erich Schultz-Ewerth and his 
associates voted not to resist invasion, since the loyalty of the Samoans to German interests was doubtful. (Field 1984: 2)

On August 5, 1914, the Government of German Samoa shipped 100,000 Deutsche Marke, "believed to be mostly silver" 
to the Deutsche Handels und Plantagens Gesellschafts (DHPG: German Commercial Plantation Company's) Pago Pago 
office, on the SS Staatssekretär Solf (State Secretary Solf), by order of the Governor, Dr. Erich Schultz-Ewerth. (Bryan 1927: 51)

On August 5, 1921, Mata'afa Faumuina Fiame Mulinu'u II, CBE, first Prime Minister of the Independent State of 
Western Samoa (1962-1970 and 1973-1975) was born in Lotofaga, 'Upolu to Mata'afa Faumuina Fiame Mulinu'u I and 
Fa'amusami Malietoa. (Warburton 1996: 51)

On August 5, 1953, Lawrence McCully Judd ended his term as American Samoa's fourth appointed civil governor 
(since March 4, 1953). He  resigned because of poor health. (ASG: Governors' List; Judd 1971: 282)

August 6:

On August 6, 1887, Joseph Webb and Henry Poor, representing Hawaiian King Kalakaua, travelled to Afega, 
'Upolu, aboard the Kaimiloa. (Theroux-Sorensen 02/23/1994)

On August 6, 1899, Dr. Wilhelm Heinrich Solf was elected President of the Municipal Council of Apia. (Theroux 1983b: 54)

On August 6, 1914, Britain's Secretary of State, Sir Lewis Harcourt, sent a telegram urging New Zealand's Governor 
General, the Earl of Liverpool, to seize German Samoa and take control of the radio station there. He reminded Liverpool 
that any territory thus occupied "must at the conclusion of the war be at the disposal of the Imperial Government for 
purposes of an ultimate settlement." Liverpool replied immediately, agreeing to capture Samoa. (Field 1984: 2-3)

On August 6, 1914, the German  steamer Staatssekretär Solf (State Secretary Solf), a "small (350 tons) slow wooden 
vessel of little value" arrived in Pago Pago Harbor seeking refuge from possible capture in German Samoa. She remained 
in Pago Pago, flying the German flag, until April 7, 1917, when the United States declared war on Germany and seized her. 
(Bryan 1927: 50)

On August 6, 1929, the German cruiser Emden anchored off Apia Harbor. 200 local residents, mostly Germans, 
part-German afakasi and their friends and relatives, went aboard to visit. This was the first official German visit to 
Western Samoa since 1914. There were no disturbances. (Burke 1945c: 113-114)

August 7:

On August 7, 1873, Colonel Albert Barnes Steinberger arrived in Pago Pago as the "special agent" of 
U.S. Secretary of State Hamilton Fish. (Gray 1960: 60)

August 8:

On August 8, 1887, Hawaiian King Kalakaua's ship Kaimiloa left Apia on the return voyage to Honolulu, 
following the closure of the Hawaiian mission to Samoa on July 18, 1887. (Kuykendall III, 1967: 337)

On August 8, 1903, on Tutuila, the U.S. Government purchased "Parcel No. 46: Quarters, Utulei," totalling 1.20 acres, from 
"Afoa" for $530.00, and "Parcel No. 47: Mauga o Ali'i," 1.10 acres, from "Afoa, Tuaua, Samoan Chiefs & Taesali" for $200.00. 
(This purchase was completed on May 23, 1904). (Anonymous 1960: 4)

  On August 8, 1911, Charles Thomas ("Sale") Taylor, Robert Louis Stevenson's translator and 
"sesquipedalian young half-caste" died in Apia. (Theroux 1985)  

On August 8, 1940, Lieutenant Commander Jesse Rink Wallace ended his nine-day term as 
27th naval governor (acting: since July 30, 1940) of American Samoa. (USNHC: Wallace RO)

On August 8, 1940, Captain Laurence Wild relieved Lieutenant Commander Jesse Rink Wallace and 
became American Samoa's 28th naval governor (until June 5, 1942). (USNHC: Wild RO)

August 9:

On August 9, 1830, Reverend John Williams of the London Missionary Society set sail from Vavau, 
Tonga, en route to Samoa aboard his two-masted schooner the Olive Branch 
(later renamed the Messenger of Peace [Savali o le Filemu]), "a craft 20 metres long and with an 8 metre beam,
" which he built himself with wood from the tamanu tree, "using great ingenuity, and with virtually no machinery."  (Moyle 1984: 7, 8, 63)

On August 9, 1922, Rear Admiral Uriel Sebree, American Samoa's second naval governor 
(November 27, 1901-December 16, 1902), died in Coronado, California. (USNHC: Sebree RO)

  August 10:

On August 10, 1785, a French scientific exploring expedition commanded by Comte Jean-François de La Pérouse set 
sail from Brest, France, for South America, Cape Horn, and the Pacific islands, including Samoa. La Pérouse was 
aboard his flagship, La Boussole ("the Compass"). The other ship, L' Astrolabe ("the Quadrant") was commanded 
by First Officer Paul-Antoine Fleuriot de Langle. The expedition's scientists included "geographers, astronomers, 
mathematicians, botanists, a geologist, a painter and an anatomist. Merchandise to be used for trading and presents 
to native peoples included 2,000 hatchets, 700 hammers, 50,000 nails, 1,000,000 needles, 30,000 flints, 2,600 combs, 
5,000 pieces of jewelry, 1,200 silk ribbons and 900 toys." (Apple 1971a)

On August 10, 1900, Commander Benjamin Franklin Tilley, Commandant, U.S. Naval Station Tutuila, 
apprised the Assistant Secretary of the Navy of the progress that had been made in establishing a 
government for the eastern Samoan islands. "I am glad," he wrote, "that I am able to report that 
everything connected with the new government is progressing in a most satisfactory manner, in 
all the islands. The natives show much interest in the new methods of government and they are 
striving to learn and comply with my wishes. The general condition of the people could not be more 
satisfactory, they are quiet everywhere and are improving their roads, cleaning up the villages and 
their surroundings and planting their gardens and plantations. Prosperity for the islands seems fully 
assured." (Thompson 1989: 3)

On August 10, 1914, the "Advanced Force of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force" traveled 
to Wellington by troop train, in preparation for the occupation of German Samoa. 
The 1,363-strong force included a field artillery battery, engineers, machine gunners, 
doctors, nurses and two dentists. (Field 1984: 3)

On August 10, 1942, six Grumman F4F-3 "Wildcat" fighter planes from Marine Fighter Squadron 111 
(VMF-111) left Tutuila to reinforce 'Upolu. (Denfeld 1989a: 31)

On August 10, 1942, at "MOB 3" (the U.S. Navy's Mobile Hospital No. 3, 
in Mapusaga, American Samoa), "forty buildings were in use, including the recently 
finished X-ray facility and a second operating room. The construction pace had slowed, 
with the hospital staff now busy caring for the 51 patients. With wounded from the 
Solomon Islands expected, the need for construction assistance was realized." (Denfeld 1989a: 31)

August 11:

On August 11, 1889, Malietoa Laupepa returned from his exile in the Marshall Islands, 
aboard a German gunboat, and was set adrift. He was met by Mata'afa Iosefo, in favor 
of whom he subsequently abdicated his "kingship." (Bryan 1927: 34)

On August 11, 1922, Mr. John F. Harris arrived in American Samoa to take up 
his duties as principal of the Poyer School in Anua. (Bryan 1927: 89)

  On August 11, 1925, Margaret Mead, age 24, arrived in American Samoa 
aboard SS Sonoma to begin the fieldwork for her doctoral dissertation in 
anthropology at Columbia University, where she was a student of  Professor 
Franz Boas. (Theroux 1985)

On August 11, 1931, American Samoa's Governor, Captain Gatewood 
Sanders Lincoln, prepared a report for the Chief of Naval Operations, 
Admiral William Veazie Pratt, in which he said that the naval station was 
"capable of furnishing an anchorage, dock, radio communication, a limited 
amount of coal and water to ships, and doing a limited amount of repair. 
Personnel assigned to the station were there for the purpose of conducting 
the civil government of Samoa. He noted that seventy-two sailors and one 
Marine First Sergeant were assigned to the station. They carried out the 
following duties:

Radio Station--total of 12 enlisted men. Operation and maintenance of the main radio station. 
Two radio stations in the Manu'a group. Two radio telephones at Leone and Amouli, Tutuila.
Medical Department and Public Health Service--23 enlisted men. Four men attached to the 
Navy dispensary on the station. Nineteen men attached to the Samoan hospital and to dispensaries 
in the villages.
Public Works Department, Ice and Power Plants, and Machine Shop--6 men. Upkeep of Navy 
buildings and grounds, and the Island Government's public works, including roads and upkeep of vehicles.
Fita Fita Guard and Band--2 enlisted men: the Marine drill    sergeant, and the bandmaster.
Governor--Commandant's Office--3 enlisted men.
Chaplain's Office (Superintendent of Education)--1 enlisted man.
Governor--Commandant's servants--3 enlisted men.  
Aids to navigation--1 enlisted man.

The remaining twenty sailors performed duties concerning discipline, mess service, 
commissary service, naval clerical work, and care of naval equipment:

Office of Supply Officer--2 enlisted men.
Office of Disbursing Officer--1 enlisted man.  
Commissary Store, Butcher and Bake Shop--7 enlisted men.
Galley--3 enlisted men.
Master-at-Arms, Navy Barracks--1 enlisted man.
Ships' Service Store--1 enlisted man.
Care, repair and maintenance of boats--3 enlisted men.
Captain of the Yard's Office--1 enlisted man.
Armory and Magazine--1 enlisted man.

Lincoln concluded by noting that the station had a 3-inch field piece and four 
3-pounder saluting guns. He recommended turning in the field piece in return 
for two Browning automatic rifles, four Thompson submachine guns, and fifty 
tear gas bombs." (Thompson 1989: 17-18)

On August 11, 1943, USS Arthur P. Gorman's keel was laid at Baltimore, 
Maryland by the Bethlehem Steel Company. She began life as a "Liberty Ship," 
and was later converted to an internal combustion repair ship and renamed USS 
Tutuila (ARG-4). She was the second U.S. Navy ship to bear that name. (Mooney VII, 1981: 367)

August 12:

On August 12, 1830, Lei'ataua Tonumaipe'a Tamafaiga, a notorious cannibalistic 
priest of the old Samoan religion, was assassinated (according to LMS missionary 
John Williams). (Moyle 1984: 10; Theroux 1985)

On August 12, 1845, French Marist Fathers Roudaire and Violette, accompanied 
by Brother Peloux aboard the warship L'Etoile de la Mer, arrived at Lealatele, Savai'i, 
and established themselves at Salelevalu, where the ship fired a salute in honor of their 
first mass. (Gray 1960: 45)

On August 12, 1914, the German steamer Elsass, "a splendid passenger and 
cargo vessel of about 15,000 tons" left German Samoa and sought refuge in 
Pago Pago Harbor shortly after the outbreak of World War I. She remained there 
until April 7, 1917 (q.v.), when the U.S. Navy seized her after the United States 
declared war on Germany. (Bryan 1927: 50)

On August 12, 1926, a very mild form of "simple [to be distinguished from the 
deadly "Spanish"] influenza" appeared on the north shore of Pago Pago Bay, 
and spread rapidly until there were "from 4,000 to 5,000 cases on Tutuila." The 
epidemic was finished at the end of September. (Bryan 1927: 71)

August 13:

On August 13, 1899, Commander Benjamin Franklin Tilley, USN, age 51, 
arrived in Pago Pago Harbor aboard USS Abarenda, a 4,000-ton naval 
auxiliary freighter. Upon arrival, Tilley became Officer in Charge of the U.S. 
Naval station Tutuila, which was already under construction. Abarenda remained 
as station ship until May 29, 1902. Her officers and senior non-commissioned 
officers included Lieutenant Commander Edward J. Dorn (Serial Number 359), 
Ensign Louis C. Richardson (1119), Assistant Surgeon Lieutenant Commander 
Edward Maurice Blackwell (1760), Assistant Paymaster Charles Morris, Jr. (1991), 
Chief Boatswain Henry Hudson (3515), Boatswain Hjalmar E. Olsen (3550) and 
Warrant Machinist George L. Russell (4007). (Gray 1960: 105; Wright-Sorensen 12/06/1989)

On August 13, 1942, at the U.S. Navy's Mobile Hospital No. 3 ("MOB 3") in 
Mapusaga, American Samoa, "General [Henry L.] Larsen, [USMC, Commanding General, 
Samoan Defense Group] came through with some very fine and generous help; forty-five 
Marine Corps carpenters arrived at Mapusaga. Within a few days they had the morgue,
  laboratory and dental building completed on Upper Pearl Street, and moved along up 
the north arch of Sands Street to construct the urology clinic, two urology wards, the 
receiving ward, and the eye, ear, nose and throat wards; then over to the south arch of 
Sands Street to build two more surgical wards. This gave us sixty-five buildings, including 
wards for 140 beds. For the first time, we had a comfortable bed margin over the patient census." 
(Parsons 1945: 98)

On August 13, 1944, the anti-submarine net which was removed from Apia Harbor on 
April 7, 1944 was shipped back to Pearl Harbor on USS Zebra (AKN 5). (Burke 1945c: 73; Silverstone 1945: 332)

August 14:

On August 14, 1900, Dr. Wilhelm Heinrich Solf, Governor of German Samoa, established 
a system of administration based on the Tumua and Pule orator groups. (Davidson 1967: 83)

On August 14, 1905, German Samoa's Governor, Dr. Wilhelm Heinrich Solf, held a 
large assembly at Mulinu'u. He replaced the former Tumua and Pule with a new council, 
which was called the "Fono a Faipule." (Davidson 1967: 83)

August 15:

On August 15, 1830, John Williams and his shipmates aboard the Olive Branch 
sighted Savai'i. Williams recorded the event in his journal, writing that "The land 
was seen at 10 A.M. and about 3 P.M. we came up with it. We were filled with 
astonishment at the size and beauty of the island. It answered well the description 
by the French Navigators. A very large Island, equal to Tahiti in beauty, fertility and size." 
(Moyle 1984: 67)

On August 15, 1943, Eni Fa'auaa Hunkin (later Eni F.H. Faleomavaega), 
American Samoa's Lieutenant Governor (1985-1989) and Congressional 
Delegate since 1989, was born "at the outskirts of the village of Vailoatai, Tutuila." 
(Faleomavaega in Sutter 1989: 207)

On August 15, 1945, the U.S. Marine Corps Barracks, Tutuila, commanded by 
Lieutenant Colonel E.D. Dunkle, was closed. (Burke 1945b: 89; Denfeld 1989a: 41)

August 16:

On August 16, 1830, John Williams and his colleagues, sailing along Savai'i's north coast, 
"expressed our surprise to Faauea, the Samoa Chief who had come with us, that the people 
did not come off to us. He told us they were afraid. That some years ago a large vessel 
was seen near the shore and a canoe went off. The captain hoisted the canoe on board 
and took it away with him and told the natives to swim on shore." (Moyle 1984: 67)

On August 16, 1891, French Marist Father Eugène Didier "was lost at sea with Brother Hyacinthe 
Moulin and crew, while returning [to Samoa] from the Tokelau Islands." Heslin 1995: v)

On August 16, 1960, Western Samoa's constitutional convention opened. 
(Davidson 1967: 382)

August 17:

On August 17, 1873, Colonel Albert Barnes Steinberger arrived in 
Apia as the personal emissary of U.S. President Ulysses S. Grant. 
"His ability and charm made a favourable impression from the first." 
(Morrell 1960: 215)

On August 17, 1904, the Navy Department gave $250 to 
Tui Manu'a Elisara for the completion of the school at Ta'u. 
(Bryan 1927: 81)

On August 17, 1961, Public Law 87-158 was enacted by the U.S. Congress. 
This Act stated "That the Secretary of the Navy is hereby authorized and directed 
to transfer, without reimbursement or transfer of funds, to the Government of 
American Samoa, within ninety days after the date of enactment of this Act, 
title to all property, real and personal, which is located in American Samoa on the 
date of enactment of this Act and which is owned by the United States and is within 
the administrative supervision of the Department of the Navy on such date: Provided, 
That title to any personal property which was located in American Samoa on July 1, 1951, 
and was made available to the government of American Samoa by the Department of the 
Navy, but which has been consumed or disposed of since such date, shall be deemed to 
have been transferred to the government of American Samoa on July 1, 1951. Approved 
August 17, 1961." (USSL 75, 1961: 392)

August 18:

On August 18, 1830, John Williams and his party "observed from the east a bay [Safune] 
which appeared well sheltered from the east wind....A great number of canoes came 
off to whom Faauea the Samoas Chief spoke. The people recognised him immediately 
and addressed him as their Etu Chief." (Probably aitu, believing that he was dead because 
of his long absence from Samoa). Fa'auea told the Samoans that the Olive Branch was a 
"pahilotu" (praying ship), and the Christian converts on Tongatapu, Ha'apai, Rarotonga 
and Tahiti were "all much better since they embraced Christianity." (Moyle 1984: 67-68)

On August 18, 1838, the United States Exploring Expedition (popularly known as the 
"U.S. Ex. Ex." at the time), commanded by Lieutenant Charles Wilkes, USN, weighed 
anchor at Hampton Roads, Virginia and set sail for Madeira, Rio de Janeiro, Tierra 
del Fuego and the South Pacific. The ships in Wilkes's fleet were USS Vincennes (flagship),  
USS Peacock, USS Porpoise, USS Sea Gull and USS Flying Fish. The U.S. Ex. Ex. 
was America's attempt to emulate Captain James Cook's voyages of discovery, and to locate 
"Terra Australis Incognita," the large southern continent which savants of the day insisted 
must exist, in order to "balance out" the large land masses in the northern hemisphere. 
The Expedition included many prominent scientists, artists and other experts; the artifacts 
and specimens which it collected were the Smithsonian Institution's first exhibits. Wilkes 
was the first navigator to prove that Antarctica was a continent, rather than an ice mass. 
(Stanton 1975: 71-72; passim; Viola and Margulis 1985: 257; passim)

On August 18, 1887, the Kaimiloa, royal vessel of Hawaii's King Kalakaua, 
departed from Pago Pago. Captain Jackson was detained because, despite being 
ordered to leave Samoa, he traded the ship's silverware for whiskey and spent most 
of his time drunk on the beach. (Kuykendall III, 1967: 337; Theroux-Sorensen 02/23/1994)

On August 18, 1942, Captain John Gould Moyer, Commandant, U.S. 
Naval Station Tutuila, requested 62 additional men to work on the construction 
of a destroyer repair base. (Burke 1945b: 54 n.39)

August 19:

On August 19, 1882, MacGillivray Milne, 25th naval governor of American Samoa 
(January 20, 1936-June 3, 1938), was born in Gauley Bridge, West Virginia. (USNHC: Milne RO)

August 20:

On August 20, 1811, French navigator Louis-Antoine de Bougainville, who named Samoa 
"The Navigator Isles" in 1768, died and was buried in the Paris Pantheon. (Dunmore 1991: 37)

On August 20, 1830, John Williams and his fellow missionaries approached Apolima, 
and secured the services of "a European called John Wright," who "came to offer himself 
as our Interpreter in which capacity we were glad to accept him." On this occasion, 
Williams recorded the recent assassination of the reputed cannibal chief Lei'ataua Tonumaipe'a Tamafaiga 
"about 15 days before our arrival," speculating that "It is thought he would have used 
all his influence to oppose our object he himself being almost the object of adoration but he was 
removed." (Moyle 1984: 69)

On August 20, 1870, Edward Stanley Kellogg, 15th naval governor of American Samoa 
(September 4, 1923--March 17, 1925), was born in "Morrisanai, now a part of New York City, 
New York." He was the "Son of Lieutenant Commander N. Kellogg and Mrs. (Janie H. Pollock) 
Kellogg." (USNHC: Kellogg RO)

On August 20, 1896, Captain Joshua Slocum---Sailing Alone Around the World  
(as his subsequent book was entitled, and he was the first man to do so)---departed 
Apia aboard the Spray. (Theroux 1985)

On August 20, 1914, the German radio station in Apia "went silent." (Apple 1971f: 3)

On August 20, 1941, "the first Samoan--Sianava Robert SEVA'AETASI--was enlisted 
in the First Samoan Battalion, U.S. Marine Corps Reserve. He had been instrumental in the 
organization of the Battalion." (Anonymous 1945: 4)

August 21:

On August 21, 1830, John Williams recorded the arrival of Malietoa Vai'inupo from 
'Upolu as follows: "In the evening Malietoa arrived from Upolu, in a very large and handsome 
canoe. The Chief came in consequence of the messenger sent...[he] appeared near sixty 
years old and rather stout. War he gave us to understand was his great Delight. His people 
seemed to treat him as a person almost Divine. Faauea & his little son kissed his feet and 
when he arose from his seat in the cabin to go on shore one of his Domesticks immediately 
sprinkled the place with water. The Chief went on shore to see that our native teachers were 
taken proper care of and we promised to follow him in the morning." (Moyle 1984: 71)

On August 21, 1903, Commander E.B. Underwood, Commandant of the U.S. Naval Station 
Tutuila, asked the Assistant Secretary of the Navy to send a Marine Gunnery Sergeant to 
command the Fita Fita Guard. He said that the Fita Fita "are well-drilled, and they work hard 
and uncomplainingly; they lack, however, in discipline and sense of responsibility, which is 
perhaps not to be wondered at when we consider that the wild blood of scores of generations 
is flowing through their veins." (Letter, Underwood-AsstSecNav: 08/21/1903)

On August 21, 1914, an Australian naval convoy, commanded by Rear Admiral Sir 
George Patey aboard HMAS Australia (a Lion-class battlecruiser dispacing 20,000 
tons and armed with eight 12-inch guns and 16 4-inch guns), and accompanied by the 
cruiser HMAS Melbourne, arrived in Nouméa, New Caledonia to join the New Zealand 
Expeditionary Force, en route to capture German Samoa. (Field 1984: 6; Halpern 1994: 88; LeFleming 1961: 41)

On August 21, 1929, American Samoa's Governor, Captain Gatewood Sanders Lincoln, 
amended the Territory's Codification of Regulations and Orders to include 
"Section 19: Accrued Leave for Civilian Employees." (Noble 1931: 24)

August 22:

On August 22, 1865, Augustin Krämer, German Samoa's Chief Naval Medical 
Officer and author of the authoritative two-volume book Die Samoa Inseln 
(The Samoa Islands) was born in Los Angeles, Chile. (Theroux 1985)

On August 22, 1898, Malietoa Laupepa, who was often deemed "King of Samoa" 
by the Three Consuls and other European intriguers died in Western Samoa. (Gray 1960: 98)

On August 22, 1914, the French armored cruiser Montcalm joined the 
New Zealand Expeditionary Force in Nouméa, New Caledonia, en route 
to capture German Samoa. (Halpern 1994: 88)

August 23:

On August 23, 1741, French Pacific Explorer Jean-François de Galaup 
(later Comte de La Pérouse) was born in Albi, France. (Dunmore 1985: 9)

On August 23, 1830, LMS missionary John Williams and his colleagues visited 
"the Principal Chief Malietoa [Vai'inupo, at Sapapali'i, Savai'i] with the present 
we had brought for him." (Axes, hammers, chisels, cloth, beads and a large 
quantity of LMS publications). In return, Malietoa brought the missionaries 
"a present of mats and native cloth. The Chief held one end of the cloth and mats 
in his hands leaving the other to drag after him in the form of a train which an elderly 
female bore slightly off the ground. The Chief came in twice in the above mentioned 
manner and presented the mats and cloth to us rather in a stately and graceful manner." 
After Malietoa was seated, Williams, using John Wright as an interpreter, explained 
the purpose of his visit, which was not to take any of his property, but rather, to teach 
him "and his people the knowledge of the true God." (Moyle 1984: 73)

On August 23, 1887, German soldiers, supported by four German warships 
under Commodore Heusner, "invaded" Apia, and German Consul Becker demanded 
that Malietoa Laupepa pay a $13,000 fine for "insulting" Kaiser Wilhelm II. (Kennedy 1974: 68-69)

On August 23, 1899, the U.S. Government purchased unnumbered parcels of land for the 
U.S. Naval Station Tutuila listed as "Acquisition of Water Rights: Reservoir, pipeline, etc." 
from "Mauga, Lutu, Tiumalu, Faanate, Mailo; Tamuu, Taesali, Isoa, chief talking men of 
Faga Toga, Tiumalua, Mailo, Afoa, Samia, Tamuu, Fagini, and Ifupo, owners of certain 
lands in and around Faga Toga" for $300.00. (Anonymous 1960: 3)

On August 23, 1914, the New Zealand Expeditionary Force set sail from New
  Caledonia for Suva, Fiji, and then to German Samoa, led by the Australian battlecruiser 
HMAS Australia and the French armored cruiser Montcalm. (Field 1984: 6; Halpern 1994: 88)

On August 23, 1941, the proposed plan "of enlistment of natives in the 
First Samoan Battalion [U.S. Marine Corps Reserve] estimated that approximately 
753 were prospective candidates. These figures cannot be used as accurate, it was 
pointed out, because the natives change their names frequently and because they 
reported for drills in different villages. Three hundred and one men attended 
weekly drills regularly. More than 200 men of these prospects were employed 
in other than plantation work. It was estimated that not more than 50 men could 
be enlisted from the islands of the Manu'a Group without material injury to their 
economic and social life." (Anonymous 1945: 5)

August 24:

On August 24, 1830, Reverend John Williams of the London Missionary Society
met again with Malietoa Vai'inupo, who "had bought a young wife with part of the 
present made him yesterday and must need remain a day or two to arrange matters 
respecting her......The young woman purchased by Malietoa was better looking than 
any female we had seen on the Island but the Chief was not only aged but far from 
handsome. We hope the day is not far distant when the light of the glorious gospel 
will chase away all such works of Darkness." (Moyle 1984: 76-77)

On August 24, 1943, First Lady (Anna) Eleanor Roosevelt inspected the 
Fita Fita Guard and Band, and the First Samoan Battalion, U.S. Marine 
Corps Reserve, at the U.S. Naval Station Tutuila. (Anonymous 1945: 17)

August 25:

On August 25, 1904, on Tutuila, the U.S. Government purchased 
"Parcel No. 49: Blunts Point," totalling 4.20 acres, from "Tugaolotagi & 
W.H. Yandall," for $878.50. (This transaction was completed on 
November 25, 1904 [q.v.]). (Anonymous 1960: 4)

On August 25, 1907, "Mr. Benjamin Boss, assistant astronomer, requested 
that he be ordered back to Washington on his return to Tahiti from the eclipse 
expedition to Flint Island, on the grounds that the observatory at Tutuila presented 
to him too many difficulties both astronomical and in its living conditions to be 
overcome. Orders were issued in January, 1908, to abandon the observatory. 
Mr. Boss and Mr. [G.] Harrison ['special laborer'] were detached by letters 
forwarded February 1, 1908; they both left Suva, Fiji, for Vancouver, en route 
to the United States, May 19, 1908. The instruments were returned to the 
Naval Observatory, Washington, D.C." (Please see the entries for November 25, 1904
and November 28, 1907). (Bryan 1927: 114-115)

On August 25, 1920, His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales (later King Edward VIII, 
and, following his abdication in 1936, the Duke of Windsor) visited Western Samoa aboard 
HMS Renown, a 32,700-ton battlecruiser, completed in September, 1916. Renown  
mounted six 15-inch, seventeen 4-inch and two 3-inch guns, and was the tenth British ship 
to bear that name. (The first was launched in 1651). "When local matrons heard he was 
still a bachelor, they organized a gala reception at the British Club to introduce him to 
their eligible daughters. If European royalty were so keen on this island, why not catch 
a prince? As it turned out, the royal lad was a very shy young fellow." (Theroux 1985; 
Eustis 1979: 71; LeFleming 1961: 42; Ala'ilima 1988: 156)

On August 25, 1996, the Aiga Tautai o Samoa (Samoan Voyaging Society) launched 
the 60-foot 'alia (double-hulled voyaging canoe) Mana o Samoa in Pago Pago Harbor. 
The vessel was severely damaged upon launching. (Enright 1997)

August 26:

On August 26, 1913, the Surgeon General of the U.S. Navy issued a directive to establish 
a nursing school in Tutuila. "For this purpose," he wrote, "two members of the Nurse Corps, 
United States Navy, will be ordered to Samoa, who together with the Medical Officer of the 
Navy attached to the Station, will give the necessary instruction." (Bryan 1927: 75)

On August 26, 1914, the New Zealand Expeditionary Force, steaming from New Caledonia 
to capture German Samoa, arrived in Suva, Fiji. (Field 1984: 6)

August 27:

On August 27, 1887, German warships distributed declarations of 
Tui A'ana Tupua Tamasese Titimaea's war on Malietoa Laupepa 
(which lasted until September 1, 1887. (Gray 1960: 78)

On August 27, 1891, on Tutuila, the U.S. Government purchased 
"Parcel No. 4," Sogelau Ridge (1 acre, 1 rod, 24 perches: the American 
flag was raised there on April 17, 1900) and "Parcel No. 5," Mauga-'o-Ali'i 
(6 acres, 1 rod, 22 perches: the future site of Government House) from 
William Cooper for the sum of $1,000.00. (Anonymous 1894: 13; Anonymous 1960: 3)

On August 27, 1914, the New Zealand Expeditionary Force, consisting of the 
battlecruiser HMAS Australia, light cruisers HMAS Melbourne and HMAS 
Sydney, the French armored cruiser Montcalm, the New Zealand Squadron's 
light cruisers HMS Psyche (Captain Herbert Marshall), HMS Philomel and 
HMS Pyramus, and the Union Steamship Company's vessels Moeraki and 
Monowai, weighed anchor at Suva, Fiji and set sail on the final leg of its mission 
to capture German Samoa. (Field 1984: 7; Halpern 1994: 88)

On August 27, 1938, Lawrence McCully Judd, who would serve as 
American Samoa's fourth appointed civil governor (March 4-August 5, 1953) 
married Eva Marie Lillibridge, after divorcing his first wife, Florence Bell Hackett Judd. 
(Anonymous n.d.: 114)

On August 27, 1942, the first group of wounded sailors and marines from 
Guadalcanal arrived at the Navy's Mobile Hospital No. 3 ("MOB 3") at 
Mapusaga, Tutuila. Seabees from the 11th Battalion began constructing more 
buildings to accommodate the wounded from this fiercely contested battle. (Parsons 1945: 99-100)

August 28:

On August 28, 1851, the "Vicariate Apostolic of the Navigators Islands" 
was established in Apia. (Heslin 1995: vii)

On August 28, 1879, a British-Samoan treaty was signed to establish a 
naval station at an unspecified harbor. (Theroux 1985)

On August 28, 1899, Vernon Huber, American Samoa's 34th naval governor 
(April 22, 1947-June 15, 1949), was born in Philadelphia, Illinois, the son of H.O. 
and Nelle Davis Huber. (USNHC: Huber RO)

On August 28, 1941, the two newly emplaced six-inch guns at Blunts Point, 
Tutuila, fired eight rounds each at a stationary raft in Pago Pago Harbor. (Denfeld 1989: 28)

August 29:

On August 29, 1914, after breakfasting on tinned beef, bread and tea, the 
New Zealand Expeditionary Force's landing force, commanded by 
Lieutenant Colonel Robert Logan of the New Zealand Army, occupied 
German Samoa with 1,473 men. Governor Erich Schultz-Ewerth destroyed 
the Apia radio station "to keep it out of British [i.e., New Zealand] hands." 
The first British Commonwealth officer to land on enemy territory in 
World War I was Lieutenant Edward Church, paymaster of the New Zealand 
cruiser HMS Psyche, who was instructed to carry Force Commander Admiral 
Sir George Patey's "unconditional surrender" demands to the German representatives. 
Governor Schultz had left town "to attend a conference of orators and chiefs." 
Acting Governor S.N. Rimberg surrendered after many delays, and the New Zealand 
troops landed unopposed. Not a single shot was fired by either side. One New Zealand soldier, 
writing a letter home, said that it was "a tame affair." (Apple 1971f: 3; Field 1984:   7-12)

On August 29, 1916, the U.S. Congress appropriated funds for a radio station at the 
U.S. Naval Station Tutuila. (Bryan 1927: 55)

On August 29, 1924, Commander Edward S. Kellogg, Governor of American Samoa, 
issued an unnumbered regulation entitled "Board of Investigation." (Noble 1931: 84-85)

On August 29, 1941, Pita Fiti (later Tauese) Sunia, American Samoa's third elected 
governor, was born in American Samoa. (Sunia OPR 1997)

On August 29, 1942, Marine Corps wounded arrived at "MOB 3" 
(The U.S. Navy's Mobile Hospital No. 3, at Mapusaga, American Samoa) from Tulagi, 
Solomon Islands. (Parsons 1945: 99-100)

August 30:

On August 30, 1902, Captain Uriel Sebree, Commandant, U.S. Naval Station Tutuila, 
enacted two unnumbered regulations entitled "'Fa'a Samoa' Fines" and "Customs Interfering 
with Religious Beliefs Prohibited." (Noble 1931: 76-77)

On August 30, 1911, "A dentist, holding the rate of a hospital apprentice," arrived at the 
U.S. Naval Station Tutuila. The Commandant, Commander William Michael Crose, informed 
Secretary of the Navy George von L. Meyer that the dentist's "work has been very satisfactory. 
A dentist is considered a necessity at this Station." (Crose 1912: 3)

On August 30, 1914, many Chinese indentured laborers, after learning of the New Zealand landings, 
left their plantations and gathered in front of the Apia courthouse "in a sullen mood." The Samoan Police, 
"in their first assignment for the new authorities, set about clearing Beach Road of the Chinese, using clubs." 
(Field 1984: 11)

On August 30, 1914, the total number of Chinese laborers in Western Samoa was 2,184. (Field 1984: 30)

On August 30, 1945, the second USS Tutuila (ARG-4) weighed anchor at Leyte, in the Philippines, and, 
accompanied by the repair ship USS Jason (ARH-1), the destroyer tender USS Whitney (AD-4) "and 
11 smaller ships, set out on the first leg of the voyage northward" for occupation duty in Japan. 
(Mooney VII, 1981: 367; Silverstone 1965: 283, 290-292)

On August 30, 1957, Manu Tuiasosopo, the second Samoan to become a member of a 
Super Bowl team (the San Francisco 49ers) and the first Samoan to play in a Super Bowl 
(Super Bowl XIX in 1985) was born in Los Angeles, California to Asovalu Letupu Tuiasosopo of Vatia, 
Tutuila and Sorepa Temena Tagaloa of Olosega, Manu'a. (Tuiasosopo in Sutter 1989: 203; Wiebusch 
1990: 292-304; 381)

August 31: