Tai Sing Loo (1886–1971) was a photographer of

Pearl Harbor Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the Reci ...

and many sporting events in

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...

. From 1909 to 1918, he worked with the Gurrey studio. From 1919 until his retirement in 1949, he served as an official Navy photographer. In that capacity, he photographed the Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard and the battleships, and recorded

VIP A very important person (VIP or V.I.P.) or personage is a person who is accorded special privileges due to their high social rank, status, influence, or importance. The term was not common until sometime after World War II when it was populari ...

visits, funerals and recreational events. He also photographed for the Interisland Steamship Company and was an accomplished landscape photographer. Some of his well-known photographs include many of

Duke Kahanamoku Duke Paoa Kahinu Mokoe Hulikohola Kahanamoku (August 24, 1890 – January 22, 1968) was a Hawaiian competition swimmer, lifeguard, and popularizer of the sport of surfing. A Native Hawaiian, he was born three years before the overthrow of the ...

before and after the bombing, celebrities and presidential visits to Hawaii. In 1984, the US Navy honored Tai Sing Loo with a calendar chronicling his career (see bibliography). Loo also helped to break the Japanese Codes that were put into false newspaper advertisements that detailed when the attack would occur and the formations of the planes for the attack. Loo and his wife Florence had two sons and two daughters; Florence Loo (Baptist) (b.1929), Evelyn Loo (Lee) (b. 1932), Franklin Ting Fai Loo (1934–2002), Robert Ting Ho Loo (1938–?). Tai Sing's father, Sam Choy Loo, arrived in Hawaii in the 1880s on a ship called the ''Cassandra''. The Loo family came from

Kwangtung ) means "wide" or "vast", and has been associated with the region since the creation of Guang Prefecture in AD 226. The name "''Guang''" ultimately came from Guangxin ( zh, labels=no, first=t, t= , s=广信), an outpost established in Han dynasty ...

, China, Chung Shan (Koon sheoung Doo Society). Sam Choy Loo was a Gold Leaf Sign Painter. Tai Sing had two brothers; Tai Chung, Hoon ("Cowboy"), three sisters (names not known). Sisters married into the Choy family, Young/Lum family (Broom Factory). One daughter never married and is buried in a plot at the Pauoa Chinese Cemetery. Parents and brothers are buried in

Manoa Chinese Cemetery The Manoa Chinese Cemetery is a cemetery in Manoa, Honolulu, Hawaii. Notable burials * Chang Apana (1871–1933), Honolulu Police Department detective and inspiration for the fictional character Charlie Chan Charlie Chan is a ficti ...

. Tai Sing grew up in Honolulu in what is now

Foster Botanical Garden Foster Botanical Garden, measuring , is one of five public botanical gardens on Oahu. It is located at 50 North Vineyard Boulevard, Honolulu, Hawaii, United States, near Chinatown at the intersection of Nu'uanu Avenue and Vineyard Boulevard. F ...

. The first listing of the Loo family was in 1908 in the Honolulu

city directory A city directory is a listing of residents, streets, businesses, organizations or institutions, giving their location in a city. It may be arranged alphabetically or geographically or in other ways. Information Antedating telephone directories ...

and the 1910 Census. Tai Sing's mother used to pray for people at Kwan Yin Temple on Vineyard Boulevard and River Street. The only Christian of the Loo family, the others practiced Daoism and Buddhism and honored Kwan Yin. Tai Sing lived on the US mainland in

Twentynine Palms, California Twentynine Palms (also known as 29 Palms) is a city in San Bernardino County, California, United States. It serves as one of the entry points to Joshua Tree National Park and the Mojave Desert region. History Native Americans, such as the S ...

. Moved to Manoa Marquis Lane.

Gallery

File:USS Destroyer off Honolulu Harbor 1903.tiff, USS ''Alden'' File:Kahanamoku brothers at Waikiki.jpg,

(far right) and his brothers File:Abigail Kawananakoa and the Prince of Wales (PP-97-16-003).jpg, Abigail Kawānanakoa and Edward, Prince of Wales File:Funeral of Jonah Kūhiō Kalanianaʻole (PP-25-8-034).jpg, Funeral of Prince

Jonah Kūhiō Kalanianaʻole Jonah Kūhiō Kalanianaʻole (March 26, 1871 – January 7, 1922) was a prince of the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi until it was overthrown by a coalition of American and European businessmen in 1893. He later went on to become the delegate of the Territo ...

References

*Naval Institute Archives (December 7, 2010).
Pearl Harbor through the eyes of Tai Sing Loo
. ''Naval History Blog''.

United States Naval Institute The United States Naval Institute (USNI) is a private non-profit military association that offers independent, nonpartisan forums for debate of national security issues. In addition to publishing magazines and books, the Naval Institute holds s ...

Bibliography

External links

NFAMOUS DAY: Marines at Pearl HarborTai Sing Loo Collection
at the

Hawaiian Historical Society The Hawaiian Historical Society, established in 1892, is a private non-profit organized by a group of prominent citizens dedicated to preserving historical materials, presenting public lectures, and publishing scholarly research on Hawaiian history. ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Loo, Tai Sing 20th-century American photographers American people of Chinese descent Artists from Honolulu 1886 births 1971 deaths People from Twentynine Palms, California Chinese emigrants Immigrants to the Hawaiian Kingdom