HAWAII
This tropical island paradise is anything but in 1964, but it shows signs of a faster recovery than most other states due to its isolation.
1) NUCLEAR TARGETS
Date----Type----Target---Notes
10/31/62 SS-N-4 Honolulu
2) ORGANIZED MILITARY FORCES
As noted below, the bulk of the US military on Oahu was evacuated to the mainland, leaving only the Hawaii National Guard to maintain order in the state.
29th Infantry Brigade--Hawaii (3000 men, 16 AFVs) ---443rd Oahu Battalion--Pearl Harbor (500 men, 4 AFVs)
3) THE ISLANDS
Oahu nuked: The main island of Oahu was touched by the horrors of atomic war when the Pacific Command Headquarters at Fort DeRussy Military Reservation in downtown Honolulu was nuked by a 1 megaton SS-N-4 SLBM ground burst. The hit came on October 31, 1962, one of the last of the war, fired by the Russian Golf I class ballistic missile submarine B-113. From the Kamehameha Highway all the way to Diamond Head, the city is flattened and charred and everything south of Highway 1 is tangled rubble and burnt-out buildings. Melted skyscrapers lean over a wide fused sheet of glass where the sandy beaches used to be. The international airport is a gutted shell, littered with the burnt skeletons of airliners. Oahu since: In the chaos following the nuking of Honolulu, a large group of the mostly-native Hawaiian National Guard on Oahu rebelled and tried to take over. In the end, they just sparked a civil war of sorts with the mainly off-island military forces stationed here (principally the 25th Infantry Division). By January 1, 1963, the rebellion was brutally crushed and the US military was firmly back in control. For the next year or so, Hawaii served as a staging point for the war in China and Korea until the fighting died out. In the spring of 1963, as food and fuel dwindled, it was decided that to keep valuable personnel and equipment out on an island far away from anything was a waste of resources. As such, the majority of the remaining men and material here were freighted back to the mainland or to Japan and Korea, leaving only some token forces behind. The 25th ID, the largest unit in the islands, was shipped to San Francisco to form the core of MilGov's west coast operations (see that city). Left behind was the Hawaiian National Guard 29th Infantry Brigade, who assumed control of the state's functions.
Pearl Harbor: While Pearl Harbor Naval Base and environs are technically still open, it has been looted extensively by locals since the Navy pulled out. The token garrison contingent is the 443rd Oahu Battalion with 500 men, a few APCs and four old M41 Walker Bulldog tanks. This battalion was formed by volunteers from the 25th ID and US Navy personnel who wanted to stay in Hawaii and is subornate to the 29th Infantry Brigade HQ at Hilo. They are occasionally menaced by members of the local Tau Fin tribe and largely keep to the base. There are a few operational American warships and merchantmen still in Pearl Harbor, officially there to keep an eye on things, but really lacking fuel to go anywhere else. These include the John C. Butler class DE-532 Tweedy, the stubby, rust-covered amphibious ship LST-1164 Walworth County, three LCMs and three PT boats.
The Big Island: The remaining local power in the chain is on the big Island of Hawaii, with the new state capitol at Hilo. The 29th Infantry Brigade (HI NG) with 3,000 men, including 1,000 local levies, and sixteen M48A2 Patton tanks, keeps the trains running on time in the city. They also have two aging DC-3 cargo planes that flew out here from Los Angeles in 1962 that they use to keep tabs on the rest of the islands. Mostly loyal to the military government in Colorado Springs but still suspect after the rebellion of 1962, the 29th IB pretty much serves as the de facto government of Hawaii.
Other islands: Despite Hilo's efforts, the other islands in the chain are not under any centralized control and often ruled by various criminal factions. Many natives have reverted back to tribal customs and turned to slave-ownership and banditry, both ancient Hawaiian trades.
Kauai: Ruled by a man named John Dodge. He has about 200 armed men and many slaves working a large cattle ranch. His prize is a 41-foot long sail sloop called the Short But Happy, which he keeps as an escape option.
Molokai: Held by a gang led by a former US military lieutenant. In 1962, he was caught selling secrets to Russia, but before he could be sentenced the war erupted and he escaped when Honolulu was nuked. At the one airport, there are numerous dilapidated planes all with flat tires and other problems but mostly repairable. The hangers are unused and the control tower is a windowless shell. It is here that the gang is staking it's future on as it tries to repair some of the planes to possibly get back to the mainland.
Lanai: In Lanai City there is a largish refugee population with all the problems associated with that. The three or four hundred survivors here are suffering from bandits, pirates, adventurers and the like.
Maui: Maui is a haven for thugs and slavers, with the West Maui Forest Reserve especially infested.
Midway: This former strategic island is now the private domain of a man named Roger Cavanaugh. The harbor is mostly empty, with just a few rusty fishing craft here, including a sailboat that he uses to trade with other islands.
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