Queen Lili’uokalani, a member of the Kamaka?eha Dynasty, has expressed a deep interest in keeping the Kingdom of Hawaii a free and independent island nation. Currently, the Kingdom of Hawaii is not a territory of any nation. Yet, with the turn of the century rapidly approaching, there are many world powers willing to make any sacrifice to obtain the kingdom. Japan and Germany have already expressed extreme interest in the island. I am told America also expresses a strong interest in the island kingdom, and the United States Marines will be the one to get it. As a member of the United States Marine Corps., two of our companies have combined to strengthen our subversive on the island nation. We are trusting our finest “steed”, the U.S.S. Boston to successfully lead our attack.


My commanding officer stood up, cast a look in my direction, and brandishing his arms in his usual macho display of authority, barked orders down to me. “Get on the boat, Crowan! We are departing in less than an hour!”

I immediately reacted, grabbing my gear and boarding the USS Boston. It was a steed with a metal hull, one of the few that existed. Despite the weight of my gear, I hauled it diligently to place where my cronies placed their equipment. I then returned to provide assistance for others and rejoined my comrades. One of the higher ranking marines had brought a 12-pack of mickey-finn. Usually, mickey-finn was prohibited from Marines on duty. Since he had an extremely high rank, he was able to “have a little fun.” Feeling bad for us, he handed one out to each of the men encompassing him. That night, everyone on the boat was celebrating. Many performed indescribably, attempting to fight anybody who came near. There would be restitution for our wild celebration. This was my first mission, and I was still adjusting to the deployment schedule and rules that came with it. Looking back now, it was the last time there was any happiness on board. Of course, most of the mission left us blindly guessing...


Thirty-six hours into the mission, we reached the coast of the Kingdom of Hawaii. and the U.S.S. Boston docked at Honolulu Harbor. Disembarking the ship in alphabetical order, I was one of the first soldiers to leave the ship, welcoming the soft, sandy shore beneath my feet. I was not accustomed to my new surroundings. The island appeared disparate, almost foreign.The palm trees swayed in the soft wind, as the waves crashed so gently on the shore. It was near silence, the serene, tenuous scene left us with a false sense of tranquility. I was engulfed by the environment, savoring the moment, but I was jarred back to reality with a job to do. I reluctantly grabbed my M1 and ran up the beach. I surveyed the area that my commanding officer wanted to use as a base camp. Since the area appeared perfect, I signaled the remaining men to the location. We quickly secured the the area and set up camp. The remaining platoon conveyed equipment to the the beach. Such work was extremely tedious, but cooperation rapidly accomplished the task. The company retreated to the tents, waiting for our next orders.


At dawn, I reported to my commanding officer, “William Crowan, reporting for duty, sir!”

I was proud of myself. My uniform was in pristine condition. I carried my M1 from the armory, I loaded into the diesel truck. Since I was girding myself for battle, structure and routine were my only weapons for preparation. I was followed by the rest of my company and we prepared to surround ‘Iolani Palace. On the way, we passed even more serenity. The mountains were covered by trees, with small, crystal clear water creating the illusion that it was trickling out of the mountain. My original thought was that the Marines were going to make a military presence. As it turned out, we were preparing to overthrow the Kingdom of Hawaii. We unloaded and peacefully surrounded the palace.


“How much longer will we have to wait here?” questioned one of the members of my company,who by now expected to be a martyr.

We waited for hours on end, and I became homesick. I ached for my family more than some of the other guys. The Queen was expected to surrender peacefully. She was an older woman, whose nation did not have an advanced military. This put her at a disadvantage. While we waited for the Queen to surrender peacefully, I stared at the palm trees. They swayed so calmly, I started to question my purpose in being here. It felt like I was a log being added to a fire. The United States was burning down a wonderful place. They were taking a self-sufficient nation, and forcing them to become part of something else, something bigger.


A few days later, word was spreading that the queen was getting ready to step down. She had been cooped up in her home for nearly a week. She was restricted to the inside of her palace, which received little light. I became nervous, expecting a force bigger than the Marines could handle. I looked up to the blue sky, and started to pray. Our Father, who art in heaven... I thought to myself. Do not get me wrong, I loved being a Marine, but being away from home for long periods of time was hard. I yearned for my family, and I continued to pray to myself; praying that everyone stayed safe, and that the queen surrendered peacefully, without bloodshed. Personally, I hate bloodshed. I do not like the idea of ending another person’s life, but I was ready to do it in order to protect my boys.


The company waited for another full day before the news came around. “The queen has surrendered,” my teammate informed me. My prayer worked. Thank the Lord, Thank the Lord! I rejoiced in my head. The day could not have gone any better. The queen surrendered, nobody was hurt, and the mission was completed. I felt great pride in this accomplishment. I had successfully completed my first mission, and nobody got hurt. The queen was detained, to prevent her from running away or calling in an army, and I was told to move into the palace, to check for other people. Cautiously entering the palace, I saw the queen. I knew little about her. The commanding officer informed us before the mission that it was easier to accomplish a mission if you do not know who the victim would be. He believed that this would prevent us from becoming attached, and feeling sorry for her. I disagreed with that statement, so I found out her name. She was Queen Lili’uokalani, a descendant of King Kamehameha the Great. He was the first king during the Kamehameha dynasty. King Kamehameha the Great united the Hawaiian Island chain, putting them under the Kingdom of Hawaii. The dynasty would have lasted 100 years, but my company cut it short by two years. I was about to help carry her away, when I peered down at the last queen the Kamehameha Dynasty would ever see because the Kingdom of Hawaii was about to officially become the Republic of Hawaii. I felt remorse about my actions, but I was also relieved that the mission was completed without bloodshed.


Queen Lili’uokalani was an ethereal, decrepit woman. She had a beatific touch to her also. Even though she was a queen, she did not act like she was transcendence to us. I could tell Queen Lili’uokalani was not the monolithic type. Her face was slightly wrinkled, and her hair was greying, giving the appearance of a fifty year old. She possessed a sorry look in her eyes. They were red, as though she had been bawling for the past day. I walked past and continued to walk through the palace, looking for anyone else in the building. It was eerily empty. I felt bad for Lili’uokalani. It was obvious that the marines watching her treated her like a trinket. We searched, but found nothing. I traipsed around the palace, trying to learn something about Lili’uokalani. I came across nothing, but when I walked out, I was blown away. “Wow,” I muttered to myself. Diamond Head, a monstrous mountain seated near Honolulu. Somehow, I had missed it when the USS Boston was docked. I felt like a jerk. How could I have taken something so beautiful from its people. The kingdom was gone, and from its ashes, rose a republic.

Queen Lili’uokalani was arrested. Seeing that she was a frail woman, we placed her on house arrest, hoping to ease her pain. One week later, Queen Lili’uokalani was put on trial for not immediately surrendering. The trial was pointless. Queen Lili’uokalani was treated with no homage. Nothing came of it, just a giant waste of time. She was released, and my company started to pack up. Then, Lili’uokalani was arrested again.


Just when I thought I would be returning home from my mission, Lili’uokalani was arrested not because of what she did, but because of the actions of her citizens. Marines discovered an arsenal of weapons. Unfortunately, the only person to blame was the poor Lili’uokalani. The result of those actions would be a - very pointless and boring - trial.


“Queen Lili’uokalani, you are being tried for illegally possessing firearms. Let the trial begin,” announced the judge.

Lili’uokalani appeared to be in distress. I could tell she had done nothing wrong. As much as I wanted to stand up for her, I knew I could not help her. Question after question, the judge continued to torment her, yet in an eloquent way. She tried to murmur an atonement, but she was stopped in her tracks. She had no real explanation, and her responses to the questions varied. She was too peaceful to stand up for herself. She wanted to take the punishment to prevent harm to her people. Finally, she was sentenced.

“Queen Lili’uokalani, you are sentenced to five years of hard labor.”

Suddenly, her perennial smile disappeared. The reason for such a hard sentencing was indecipherable. The quiet crowd became boisterous with excitement. The judge believed he had given appropriate sentencing, his reputation was that of virtuoso. I felt like the only one who dissented with the sentencing. I tried to stand up, but haltingly, my legs would not allow me to. I wanted to stand up and publicly berate the judge for his decision. The judge later decided that she would be banished to her palace and did not have to do five years of hard labor. It is believed that the decision was changed because she was too old for hard labor, and it would do nobody any good to send her for that. I felt that this was very commensurate.

Lili’uokalani broke out in tears. She was assisted out in handcuffs because she could not pull herself together. She was being treated like a criminal, when she did nothing wrong! I walked out the door, long after everyone else had left, only because a security guard had gouged me to do so. My company remained in Honolulu for a much longer time than any of us had anticipated. The surrounding nature invigorated all the other men, except me. One day, the commanding officer came up and delivered some news. “Queen Lili’uokalani’s sentencing has been diminished. She is now on house arrest. Also, I have a letter from President Grover Cleveland. In his letter, he expresses extreme extol to you guys.” He handed out our pittance, a sum of money so small, you could barely purchase a pair of suspenders; and we left. A week later, we were sent home. I took one last look at Diamond Head. We boarded the ship, and there was a rumor about a crypt on board. I paid no attention, and continued to walk on.

Controversy continued to loom over the topic of the overthrow. Some said it was good, others said it was bad. A picture of Queen Lili’uokalani, lamenting her dissertation appeared in the newspaper, and that was the last coverage on the subject. Everyone focused on politics. Grover Cleveland was running again, and he was the favorite. Eventually, I got over my participation in the overthrow, and was invigorated.



Nearly four years after I helped steal a gorgeous place, the Presidential election was held. Grover Cleveland had just finished his second term, and was not allowed to run for office again. The two final candidates were William MiKinley and William J. Byran. Truthfully, I was not fond of either. I hated what I had to do for this country. I had stolen something beautiful, the island of Hawaii, and I hurt others in the process. The Ten Commandments instructs not to steal, and that is exactly what I had done. I voted because it was my right to do so. Besides, neither of those men had sent my company and I out to capture Hawaii. I ended up voting for William MiKinley. He seemed the better prepared of the two candidates, and he did end up winning.

After years of waiting, I was starting to lose hope in uncovering more out about Queen Lili’uokalani. I believed that she had just given up the fight. I read through the newspaper. It was all boring, full of political junk. I flipped through the paper, browsing the headlines. I finally saw an article on Queen Lili’uokalani and read through it.

“Yes, yes, yes!!!” I raucously screamed.

Queen Lili’uokalani had used her ingenuity to go to the inauguration of William MiKinley to protest the capture of Hawaii. She wanted her home back, and she wanted it back badly.


The topic of Queen Lili’uokalani was starting to be a popular topic. Her picture at President MiKinley’s inauguration appeared all over the paper. With the controversy that was being caused, I adjourned to the idea that someone might hold a movement against this. As it turns out, some of the marines were gathering at a local pub, to celebrate the election of the new President. I had not seen my teammates in nearly four years. I decided to join them. I dawdled in.

“Hey William, over here!” another Marine called out.

I recognized him, but I could not remember his name. He gesticulated in a waving motion so I could see him. I sat down, and everyone started talking.

“Did you hear? The queen is trying to get her country back!” one marine mentioned.

His tone did not appear to be very caustic.

“Yeah. She is really being a detriment to our country,” another responded.

In a very conspicuous manner, I retorted, “No she is not!”

I stormed out of the pub extremely aggravated. I was hoping those guys had dementia, and did not actually have the volition to choose their wording. It hurt me to think that my fellow Marines had no sympathy for such an innocent and frail woman.


I returned home extremely agitated by what my fellow Marines had claimed. I was flabbergasted. Queen Lili’uokalani had done nothing wrong. All she wanted was her land back. I saw it as brave. The other marines saw it as a crime.

I started to think, “So what if she was not a leader chosen by a constituency? Her power was a patrimony. She was a leader, and she did her job well.”


Years passed, and the tale of Queen Lili’uokalani started to fade. It was imminent that she had finally accepted her loss. She acknowledged that she was circumscribed, and that she would never rule again yet, Queen Lili’uokalani’s motivation invigorated me. I was excited to see her in the paper. She transformed me from someone who did not care, to one who had extreme vehemence about her cause. I never saw her again, but I knew she would have been able to look at the Marines and forgive us. Queen Lili’uokalani died on November 11, 1917. Posthumous her death, I felt extreme contrition for her family to be veritable.





Theme Paragraph

The theme of The Loss of a Kingdom is success comes at a price. In the story, William Crowan is sent to the Kingdom of Hawaii, with his company of Marines, in an attempt to claim the island nation, and have it become a territory of the United States. This is William’s first mission. As time progresses, he yearns to return to his family. Additionally, he wants to succeed on his first mission. When Queen Lili’ukalani, the queen of Hawaii, is forced to step down, William acknowledges that his actions affect others. He realizes that the island nation is self-sufficient, and that the actions were unnecessary. As time progresses, he realizes that success comes at a price.