March 1st, 1943 was a sad day in America. That was the day hundreds of Japanese-American citizens were marched into internment camps. Not on the west coast, right here in Hawaii.

They may have walked right up this trail. This heavily forested area is in Honouliuli Gulch near Kunia. The Japanese Cultural Center of Hawaii has received permission from the landowner to research the site of a POW and internment camp.

"We're excited to be able to be part of this historical moment, to be able to preserve this for present and future generations in hopes that mistakes of history never happen again," said Shayna Cole, Japanese Cultural Center.

Monsanto Corporation bought the land from Campbell Estate and granted permission for access.

"Tremendous cooperation from Monsanto Hawaii. We're so grateful that they're letting us come on the property. They do feel it is just as important to preserve sites like this in Hawaii," said Cole.

The work is just beginning. Generations have come and gone on this former cattle ranch. Still, even a cursory look has revealed some history.

"Quite some interesting things, so far we found cement slabs that could have been dated back to the 1944-45 era as well as bottles from that time period," said Cole.

Jeff Burton of the National Park Service is the lead archaeologist on this excursion. He's assisted by University of Hawaii archaeologists and others, including Mary Farrell of the National Forest Service. She said it may be possible that former internees to could come to the site to help them with their work.

"And some of the stuff that we find can help them maybe trigger a memory and let them tell more stories about what the experience was like," said Mary Farrell, from the U.S. Forest Service.

The smallest thing can be a clue to the past - including trash.

"Trash doesn't sound that cool but it's - to archaeologists it's very exciting because it tells you more details about the daily life. Concrete slabs that shows how things were organized, how the space was organized," said Farrell.

A panel discussion on the research will be held this Sunday at 1 p.m. at the Japanese Cultural Center.