Bellows Air Force Station is a United States military reservation located in Waimanalo, Hawaii. Once an important air field during World War II, the reservation now serves as a military training area and recreation area for active and retired military and civilian employees of the Department of Defense. It is operated by Detachment 1, 15th Mission Support Group of the 15th Airlift Wing based at Hickam Air Force Base. Created in 1917 as the Waimanalo Military Reservation, the base was renamed Bellows Field in 1933 after Lt. Franklin Barney Bellows, a World War I war hero. Bellows Field was made a permanent military post in July 1941, and it was one of the airfields attacked during the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. The popular beach fronting Bellows is opened to the public on weekends. Besides offering the ability to relax on a beautiful beach, Bellow offers many activities for visitors. They have instructors on hand to teach classes on how to body board, kayak, hula dance, and make traditional Hawaiian lei. Bellows also gives scenic bike tours through the old airfield showing where the first prisoners of World War II were captured and where planes were kept during the war. Other family fun activities they have are campgrounds for camping, a mini-golf course, a paintball field, and the opportunity to go on early morning tide pool explorations.
