Jesse Cooper (Dane Clark) returned from the Korean War a broken man. He had relied on his former commanding officer for emotional and financial assistance, but Colonel Chadway (Martin Shaan) now refused to help him or even to see him. When the manager of the Albemarle Apartments, where the colonel lived, called in the police, Jesse panicked and took Ruth Martin, a young babysitter (Linda Purl), hostage. McGarrett was called in to handle the situation. Thus followed my favorite lines in the entire 12-year series:
When Jesse learned that McGarrett was a naval officer in the war, he said, "You had it easy in the war: sleeping on sheets and eating hot meals," to which McGarrett replied, “Yeah. Yeah, I agree with you, Jesse. We really had it soft, until the ship went down, and then, you wished you were in a foxhole.”
In real life, the Albemarle Apartments was the former YMCA Building. The Spanish Colonial building was constructed during World War II on the original site of the Royal Hawaiian hotel to serve as a meeting place for servicemen passing through Honolulu on their way to the Pacific Theater. The building is now the home of the Hawaii State Art Museum. Not only does it serve as a backdrop for fine art; it also hosts social functions benefitting both the museum and the State of Hawaii.
Be sure to watch "The Hostage." Not only are the exterior scenery and architecture beautiful, but we catch a glimpse of the new state capitol building, which stands directly across Richards Street from The Albemarle.