During WW2, interned (in many cases elderly) Japanese were brought by truck (from Sand Island and Honouliuli) to the Fort DeRussy area. They cleaned out kiawe trees, broke up stone and built a wall out of it. Sam Uyehara, who ran the Smile Cafe on Kalakaua near Fort DeRussy, made friends with Sargeant Anderson, who would look the other way when Sam and his father took musubi to the interned Japanese.

Today there is a recreation field in the area that stretches from Ala Moana Blvd. to Fort DeRussy.