KTOH Kauai Under Musical Attack

Kauai, Hawaii, 1945

Local newspapers report that local radio station KTOH is under attack! No, the attack is not coming from the Japanese, but from local musicians…

“Returning to the Army Air Base Thursday Night, the Pacific Ramblers reported radio station KTOH successfully assaulted and bombarded with a varied assortment of Mountain Williams songs and melody.

The attack lasted from 2000 hours to 2030 hours. Applause was so defeaning you could have walked on it.”

Dale Halleron wrote to us:

I have a picture from inside the studio in 1945. My dad and some other guys playing music live on the air in front of the microphone.

I think the date reads 1-25-45. The band was called the Pacific Ramblers. The man on the far left was my dad, William Lee Halleron. I still have that guitar. I don’t know the other names. There is even a woman hiding behind one of the men, I see her dress.

“Pacific Ramblers Boil Cabbage And Chew Cigars”

There were some unconventional tactics used in the attack…

The Pacific Ramblers were not the only musicians on the attack at the time. Bill Halloran (Dale’s father) was also playing his guitar in in the Kamikaze Kids….

“All men of the Air Base are warned to be on the alert. The Kamikaze Kids are on the prowl. Action to be taken is not immediate defensive fire but a rush for seats and a comfortable position from which one can listen to the solid music which doth come forth.”