Hawaii Territorial Guard
| Hawaii Territorial Guard | |
|---|---|
| Active | 1941-1947 |
| Country |
 United States
|
| Allegiance |
 Hawaii
|
| Branch | Army |
| Type |
 State defense force
|
| Role | Military reserve force |
| Equipment | Springfield 1903 rifle |
| Commanders | |
| Civilian Leadership | Governor Joseph Poindexter |
The Hawaii Territorial Guard was the state defense force of Hawaii during World War II. As a result of the National Guard of Hawaii being federalized for the duration of the war, the Hawaii Territorial Guard was created to serve as the stateside replacement for the National Guard. During the war, it was the sole military force available to the Governor of Hawaii to use in defense of the state. Unlike the National Guard, as a state defense force, the Hawaii Territorial Guard was not subject to federalization or deployment outside of the borders of Hawaii, but rather answered only to the governor.
The National Guard and the state defense forces both trace their roots to the state militias which made up the majority of the United States Armed Forces prior to the implementation of the Militia Act of 1903 and the subsequent creation of the modern National Guard of the United States as a federal reserve force. The first militia in Hawaii was the Honolulu Rifles, composed of non-native Hawaiians, which was created in 1884. After state militias were reorganized into the National Guard, the state of Hawaii's remaining militia units were reorganized into the National Guard.
The Hawaii Territorial Guard was created by Governor Joseph B. Poindexter, who ordered the mobilization of a Territorial Guard around 10:00 a.m. on December 7, 1941 during the attack on Pearl Harbor.
Immediately after ordering the activation of the Territorial Guard, Governor Poindexter began the task of creating it. The University of Hawaii Reserve Officer's Training Corps was activated and assembled at the University of Hawaii campus and immediately drafted into the Territorial Guard, alongside various high school JROTC students.
At 11:00 a.m. on the same day, all members of the American Legion were also called to duty via radio, thus adding between three hundred and four hundred members to the Territorial Guard ranks, whose membership would reach a strength of 89 officers and 1,254 enlisted men by December 31, 1941.
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