Aloha Aloha Aloha (; ) is the Hawaiian word for love, affection, peace, compassion and mercy, that is commonly used as a simple greeting but has a deeper cultural and spiritual significance to native Hawaiians. A greeting of love and compassion; also means "to be in the presence of the divinity" or in the presence of ("alo") the "divine breath of life" ("Ha"). The Aloha Spirit law became official in 1986. The origins of the Hawaiian word "aloha" are unclear. The word goes back to the very origins of Hawaii to Kahiki (the homeland) and even further. The word is found
USS Aloha (SP-317) Egypt and the Near East in 1912 and 1913. The outbreak of World War I in Europe in July 1914 curtailed his voyages. On 22 April 1917, after the United States had entered the war earlier that month, the U.S. Navy acquired "Aloha" from James under a free lease for use as a patrol vessel during the war. She was commissioned on 5 June 1917 as USS "Aloha" (SP-317). Soon after commissioning, "Aloha" was assigned to serve as flagship for Rear Admiral Cameron McRae Winslow (1854–1932), Inspector of Naval Districts, East Coast. No record of "Aloha"s activities during 1917 has