The growth in the number of Latino immigrants began to stall in 2008. Since then, Asians have been the single largest group of new immigrants arriving in the U.S. The Census Bureau now projects the Hispanic immigrant population to grow by 57% from 2015 to 2050.
World War II and Camp Tarawa. World War II changed everything. The war brought the military to the pastures outside of Waimea. Military facilities and homes were built. A huge tent city, called Camp Tarawa, was constructed on Parker Ranch land. Farmers settled in the area and began growing diversified crops to sell to the military or ship to Hilo for the War effort.
THE FORGOTTEN MARINES OF TARAWA. During late-November 1943 one of the most savage battles in the history of the Marine Corps took place on the tiny island of Betio, located in Tarawa Atoll. The capture of this island took three days and cost the lives of 990 Marines and Navy Corpsmen. In addition to these, another 2,200 were wounded.