Forty Years From Sand Island (3.18)

[J.J. Walters]

This is the official MM thread for Forty Years From Sand Island (3.18). All discussions and reviews for this episode should go here. If you wish to rate the episode, please do so with the poll. The avg. score will be the official 'community rating', which will be used on the episode page (updated monthly).

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Original Air Date: 2/24/1983
There's no stopping Magnum as he races to find the person who tampered with the brakes of the Ferrari that Higgins was driving.

[IslandHopper]

I enjoy this episode for several reasons, most of which have to do with the frequent banter between Magnum and Higgins. Higgins berates Magnum for drinking a bordeaux with a Macho-Taco. We see Higgins threaten Magnum with a sword, and Magnum retreat into the closet. Magnum visits Higgins in the hospital and the nurse hands him a bouquet of flowers to hold for her, and Higgins, touched, that Magnum has brought him flowers, quickly becomes deflated when the nurse comes back in and takes the flowers from Higgins to give to another patient. Then there is the scene where Magnum visits Higgins at the hospital and wheels him outside, and while Magnum is not paying attention, Higgins’ wheel chair rolls downhill with him still in it and he gives one of the most memorable “Oh My God” cries of the entire series.

Although I do like this episode, I was surprised that the guards who were supposed to be civilians (in the episode anyway) were wearing U.S. Army uniforms with rank and a 25th Infantry Division (Tropic Lighting) patch. The problem I have with this is that in the opening scene, two guards are shown beating Kira Nakamura to death. In reality, Sand Island was run by the U.S. Army and very possibly the 25th Infantry Division. However, unless a murder of this type actually took place and was perpetrated by actual members of the 25th I.D., then I don't believe they should have used this unit insignia in this episode. The 25th I.D. is actually stationed in Hawaii and was formed in October 1941 and quartered at Schofield Barracks. That scene would have been just as effective if the two guards didn’t have any unit patch. Maybe I'm making too much of the use of the 25th I.D. unit patch, but if I was a soldier in the 25th I.D., stationed on Oahu at the time this episode aired, I wouldn't be too happy.

I could not find any information on deaths at Sand Island during the war. However, it appears to be well documented that the internees at Sand Island were treated poorly. There are many resources about the various internment camps throughout Hawaii and the U.S. during WWII. There were incidents of internees dying from natural causes, but I didn’t find to much about deaths caused by guards. At Camp Topaz, in Delta, Utah, one man, James Wakasa, was shot and killed by a guard on April 11, 1943. However, because of outcries of the camp population following the incident, guard procedures at the camp changed. Another interesting note about Camp Topaz is that one of its internees was Goro Suzuki, a/k/a Jack Soo, of Barney Miller fame. Pat Morita (The Karate Kid) was an internee at age 11 at Gila River War Relocation Center in Arizona. George Takei (Star Trek) was an internee along with his family at Rohwer War Relocation Center in Arkansas. Robert Ito, a Canadian born Japanese (Quincy, M.E., Magnum, P.I.-Jororo Farewell) was also an internee during WWII. In addition to starring in "The War Between Us" (1995), a movie about the internment of Japanese-Canadians in Canada during WWII, Robert Ito's IMDB profile also credits him as a "story consultant" for the movie.

This was a good episode about a difficult time in U.S. history. I really enjoy reading about the history and incredible achievements of the U.S. Army units comprised of Japanese-Americans during WWII, i.e., 442nd Infantry Regiment, 34th Infantry Division; 100th Infantry Battalion, 34th Infantry Division.

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The answer is obvious, old man. Logic is irrelevant. It's simply Tropical Madness. (J.Q. Higgins)

[J.J. Walters]

Great review IH! That's very interesting about the 25th Infantry Division (Tropic Lighting) patch. I'm all for paying attention to detail in the show, but this was probably a case where they should have made something up!

I really like this episode, too. Great story and execution. And it features a good ensemble Asian-American cast, lead by James Shigeta. I could watch the Higgins "runaway wheelchair" scene a thousand times and never get tired of it!

In the denouement, Magnum says to T.C., "Jay Rickley Schneider is letting his daughter marry an orchid grower?" This has to be a not so thinly veiled reference to former MPI producers J. Rickley Dumm and Andrew Schneider. Pretty cool.

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Higgins: It's not a scratch! It's a bloody gouge!

[IslandHopper]

[Doc Ibold]

I find its one of lifes little quirks that if you asked me a couple of days ago, I probably could have rattled off all of these character/cast member names, and now am drawing a COMPLETE blank, aside from the 2 you mentioned.

I do know Higgins talks about Lt. Fairborn-Smith being eaten by a tiger or something in an episode.

[rubber chicken]

The Nakamura residence is located here.


Saichi Goto's boat is moored here in Kewalo Basin, not very far from Sand Island actually. (pic) (The dock configuration has changed.)


Located here, "Hanaloa Country Club," where Fred Sorenson is shot, is actually Pali Golf Course (and has been renovated somewhat). (Was this location noted somewhere before?)


And Higgins loses the brakes in the Ferrari on this road (the main one twisting up the ridge). He's seen driving up the road here, then losing his brakes here. I couldn't find where he crashed, but it *may* have been at the bottom of the road.

[J.J. Walters]

Great work as usual, RC!

[rubber chicken]

I found "Canyon Hospital" where Higgins rolls down the hill in his wheelchair. Here's where he was sitting before rolling southwest down the hill.

"Oh...My...GOD!"


The location is actually the Windward (Hawaii Loa) campus of Hawaii Pacific University, and the building is the "Amos Starr & Juliette Montague Cooke Memorial Academic Ctr." (or just HPU Loa Academic Center). It's just across the street from the golf course where Fred Sorenson was shot in this same episode (shown above).

I couldn't find a picture of that exact part of the hill but this picture is just to the left of it, and the "Amos Starr..." link above shows the hill just to the right of where Higgins took his trip.

[J.J. Walters]

Nice find RC!

The Amos Starr & Juliette Montague Cooke Memorial Academic Center? Wow, that's a mouth full!

_________________
Higgins: It's not a scratch! It's a bloody gouge!

[Carol the Dabbler]

From episode note 7: