018 | The Disappearance of Commander Thomas C. Latimore | Hawaii’s Forgotten Mystery

In the summer of 1941, just months before the attack on Pearl Harbor, a seasoned U.S. Navy officer set out for a simple hike in the Aiea Mountains—and was never seen again.

Commander Thomas C. Latimore wasn’t just any officer.
He was a man of influence.
A former acting Governor of American Samoa.
A Naval Intelligence veteran stationed at Pearl Harbor during one of the most critical moments in history.

And then—without warning—he vanished.

No body.
No personal belongings.
No signs of struggle.
Just an eerie silence... and a trail of unanswered questions that stretch across the decades.

Was it a tragic accident on treacherous trails?
A carefully orchestrated disappearance?
Or something far more sinister—tied to wartime espionage, intelligence secrets, and a global conflict waiting to erupt?

In this episode of Beneath the Palms, we peel back the layers of one of Hawaii’s most chilling and overlooked mysteries:

• Latimore’s early rise through the Navy and his ties to U.S. Naval Intelligence.

• The strange circumstances surrounding his final hike—and the arm injury that preceded it.

• The exhaustive search efforts that yielded not a single clue.

• Theories of suicide, espionage, defection, and assassination—and why none fully explain what happened.

• The wartime atmosphere in Hawaii, riddled with whispers of spies, sabotage, and secret operations.

• The legacy left behind by a man who seemingly disappeared into thin air—and why his story still matters today.

More than 80 years later, Commander Latimore’s case remains one of the greatest unsolved military mysteries in U.S. history.
And the closer you look... the more unsettling the silence becomes.

🎙️ Beneath the Palms is a true crime podcast that explores Hawaii’s hidden history—from unsolved murders and chilling disappearances to the darker stories that still echo across the islands.

📚 Sources & Credits:

• Naval History and Heritage Command – Military records and service history of Commander Thomas C. Latimore.

• National Archives – Declassified wartime intelligence documents.

• Pacific War historians & military researchers – Analysis of espionage networks and strategic naval placements in 1941 Hawaiʻi.

• FOIA researchers – Advocacy and access to sealed U.S. intelligence records tied to pre-war intelligence activities.

• Military forums & history communities – Ongoing civilian investigations, testimonies, and speculation surrounding the case.

📅 New episodes drop every Thursday at 7AM HST.
🎧 Available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, and Audible.

🌴 Follow us on Instagram for behind-the-scenes content and updates: @BeneathThePalmsPodcast

Mahalo for listening—and for keeping these forgotten stories alive.

#TrueCrimePodcast #HawaiiTrueCrime #UnsolvedMysteries #CommanderLatimore #PearlHarborHistory #MilitaryMysteries #Espionage #HawaiiHistory #DisappearanceMysteries #BeneathThePalms #MissingPersons #ColdCaseFiles