Between 1944 and 1946, 5,000 Italian prisoners of war were held at Schofield, in Kane'ohe, Kalihi Valley and on Sand Island.
They were captured by the British in North Africa in 1943, and
at least one account had them arriving after passing
through Fort Lawton in Seattle.
But evidence of their internment here remains in a more concrete form: statuary designed by Italian POWs that is still on display at
Fort Shafter and at the Coast Guard station on Sand Island.
The former Sand Island Detention Center held war captives
as well as civilians of Japanese, German or Italian ancestry
who were under investigation.
The Italian POWs also were responsible for a statue
at the Immigration Center at Ala Moana,
and Mother Cabrini Chapel at Schofield,
which was later torn down.