Yours truly,
General Danielson
For Daisy, it was bittersweet. As difficult as the war had been, these women had become family. They had held each other up through thick and thin. Heartbreak, apprehension, loneliness, you name it. But all things had to end. It was a rule of nature, a cycle of life.
Fluff, the eternal optimist, had said, “An ending is really just the beginning of something else, and the possibilities are endless. Think of it like that. Plus, it’s not like we won’t be seeing each other. I’ll be on your couch every chance I can get.”
For Lei, Fluff and Daisy, that might be true, but who knew where Betty would end up, and so many of the other military wives who were now like sisters. Daisy put it out of her mind. Any time now, the USS Rescue was set to arrive, and Betty had received a telegraph that Chuck would be aboard, sailing from Yokohama, where the POWs were being cared for and processed. Over three years in a prison camp and now he was free. The girls had been anxiously reading the papers, seeing photographs of overjoyed GIs getting their first glimpse at freedom, or a war prisoner savoring his first cup of coffee. Those were the lucky ones, if you could call them that. Bone-thin and gaunt, nevertheless they had endured.
Today, Betty was jittery and teary-eyed, and Daisy felt the same. Information had been scarce. All they knew was that Chuck and his fellow prisoners had walked and hitchhiked over five hundred miles from a camp near a place called Kobe. Betty had become preoccupied that he would not survive the crossing home.
“He didn’t walk five hundred miles to die on a hospital ship. He’ll make it back to you, Betty, I know he will,” Fluff had assured her.
Daisy hoped she was right.
The women pressed up against the fence like caged animals for over an hour, waiting for the sound of a ship’s horn. A crowd had gathered. Men, women and children milled about, some of them WARDs, some servicemen and others family. Anticipation clung to them, despite the brisk winds. A few minutes later, a loud blast came from the entrance of the bay. They all jumped.
“It has to be them!”
Sure enough, a white ship emerged, cutting through the chop. She had a long blue stripe across her hull, with red crosses adorning the smokestack and other parts of her massive body. There was absolutely no mistaking her mission. As she drew closer, you could see men on the decks waving madly.
Betty pinched her lips. “I do believe she’s the most beautiful ship I’ve ever laid eyes on.”
Daisy could hardly see through her tears, and knew the moment would be inked into her memory forever. “What a blessing.”
“It’s a miracle, is what it is,” said Lei.
Pretty soon, the crowd began cheering and hollering and throwing flowers and confetti. Kids jumped and twirled. Women hugged. It took a while for the ship to tie off and ramps to come down. And once the men began disembarking, the girls made their way to the front of the line to get a good look. These were not the pilots and soldiers Daisy was used to seeing. They were so weary looking, and half the size of regular men. The first one off the ramp bent down and kissed the earth. Several others did the same.
Betty was hopping and biting her lip, and then she saw him. “There he is!”
Chuck didn’t kiss the ground, but when he saw Betty, he fell into her arms and buried his face in her neck for a solid minute or two. Daisy had never seen two people pressed so close together, and soaking each other in. This was the kind of love that could sustain a person for years on end. There was not a dry eye in the whole shipyard.
33
THE SURPRISE
Two months later, Walker showed up at Daisy’s shack at 0600 on the dot. He had told her he had a surprise for her, and to be waiting. “Bring a jacket,” he’d said.
When she hopped in the car, he leaned over and gave her a long, slow kiss. The kind that stirred up her insides and lit up her toes. Daisy had been enjoying his soft, warm touch as often as time permitted. She was back full-time at the beach shack, with Walker staying every chance he got. She’d spent some of her earnings replacing the roof with red corrugated tin, putting up new boards on the salt-blasted ocean side, as well as brushing it all with a fresh coat of paint. Fluff, who had stayed true to her word and visited often, insisted she now call it a cottage. Betty and Lei agreed.
Walker handed her a bandanna. “Here, cover your eyes with this.”
Daisy laughed, but obeyed.
They sped off down the road, and instead of heading up through the sugarcane fields, they veered left toward Hale‘iwa.
“You know that I know every single nook and cranny of this coastline, don’t you?” she told him.
“A man has to try.”
Daisy breathed in his scent as they rode along.
She wondered where they were headed, since they rarely went this way. Perhaps the Pali lookout, after a long, leisurely drive up the coast. Or maybe a dip in the calm blue waters of Waimea Bay. The ‘oama were running, but Walker probably had no idea. He was still half cowboy, half pilot, with few fisherman tendencies. That was fine with Daisy. A man and a woman should retain their own passions.
Five minutes later, he pulled off the main road, heading toward the ocean. Daisy could smell the sandy soil and the sweetness of kiawe pods. She knew exactly where they were and what the jacket was for.
“Have you guessed?” he said.
Hale‘iwa Field.
“Are you taking me up for a spin, Lieutenant?”
“Private planes are back in business.”
She slid the bandanna off and saw a big smile lighting up his face. “Have you notified Shafter?” she asked. The last thing they needed was a pair of P-40 pursuits showing up on their tail.
He squeezed her thigh. “I’ll let you do the honors.”
On several occasions over the past few years, Daisy and the girls had been taken to Hickam and given tours of the aircraft. Seeing these birds up close and running her hand along the seams of the sun-warmed metal wings had felt almost dreamlike. They’d even been allowed to sit in the cockpit with all its levers and gauges and buttons. But never once did they go up in the air. Now, Daisy realized she had been waiting for this moment since the day she’d heard Amelia Earhart say “There’s more to life than being a passenger.”
Their ride today would be a bright orange Aeronca TC-65 Defender. Several of the schools in town used them for flight lessons, and Walker was good friends with the owner of one. Apparently, he’d flown her out here yesterday. Ever thoughtful and full of surprises. Daisy was more and more smitten with him each day.
Walker patted the side of the plane. “This baby survived the attack on Pearl Harbor, circling at two thousand feet before being shot at by Zeroes. A miracle Vitousek managed to land her. A beauty, isn’t she?”
Daisy knew the story well. “Gorgeous. And she was one of the lucky ones, from what I’ve heard.”
Several other civilian planes had been shot down after encountering a sky full of Japanese planes on what had begun as a quiet Sunday morning all those years ago. Two pilots missing, two dead.
Once inside and strapped in, Walker briefed her on their route and handed her the mic. “All yours, Rascal.”
Daisy froze for a moment, but then experience took over. “Shafter Control Center, Aeronca N33768, at Hale‘iwa, ready for takeoff, heading north to circle island.”
A man responded, “Shafter, all clear Aeronca. Have a nice flight.”
Daisy could barely contain her excitement. The runway was bumpy and sand-blown, the propeller even louder than she’d imagined, sending vibrations through the back of her legs and rattling her teeth. But a rush of pure exhilaration coursed through her. She was flying!
“This thing must be like riding a tricycle after what you’re used to,” she said into the headset.
“Something like that.”
Looking down over the reef, she could see every
coral formation, patch of sand and rocky inlet. So many shades of blue. It all looked so Technicolor, and so much more beautiful than she had imagined. As they passed Opana, Walker came in close and dipped a wing. Two men poured out of the truck and began waving their hats madly. Knowing they couldn’t see her, Daisy waved anyway.
“I sure miss talking to those Oscars. We might not have known a lot of them by face, but over time, they became almost like family. I suppose war has that effect on people,” she said.
Walker turned so she could see his face, nodding. “When lives are on the line, it ups the ante like nobody’s business.”
They followed the coastline, passing Kahuku and soaring next to the green, sawtooth ridge of the Ko‘olau Mountains and high above the milky-blue shallows. Where low clouds hung down, Walker flew around them. They were on the reverse route of the one Daisy and the girls had taken years back, when this whole thing began. She remembered how they ended up at Opana and shocked the pants off the guards. It brought a smile to her face. So much had happened in the time between.
Outside Mokapu and K¯ane‘ohe Bay Naval Air Station, flocks of seabirds—shearwaters, sooty terns and petrels—littered every square inch of rock. Daisy felt like she was finally one of them, loving the sensation of floating on air. But near Waimanalo, the plane suddenly lurched to the left and began a free fall. Her stomach went clear to the roof.
Grabbing hold of a bar on the inside of the plane, she yelled, “Whoa!”
Walker’s amused voice came on. “Relax, that was nothing. Just a little thermal.”
They soon leveled off, but bobbed around in a rough patch of air for a while. Daisy’s palms began to drip as Walker swooped in next to the cliffs, buzzing so close she could see the flowers on the vines.
Damn him. “You’re enjoying this aren’t you? Watching me sweat.”
She looked down to the foamy whitecaps far below. Tiny cotton balls. Maybe it was a good thing she’d stuck with horses.
“I don’t have eyes in the back of my head, honey,” he said.
“You know what I mean.”
He laughed. “The Daisy Wilder I know doesn’t sweat.”
On the South Shore, the bumps subsided and they glided past Diamond Head and out front of Waikiki, with people dotting the beach now that the barbed wire had been hauled off. Now, only coconut trees stood guard. The calm air soothed her nerves. Beyond Waikiki and Aloha Tower, they approached Pearl Harbor. Sandy shallows flanked the narrow channel that led into her three lochs—west, middle and east. From their vantage point, out beyond the breakers, Daisy spied the crisscrossing runways and hangars, and Battleship Row, which once again was lined with hulking, metal warships. Walker, who had been pointing out sights like an overly eager tour guide, grew quiet.
Goose bumps prickled her skin. The sound of hundreds of engines roared in her ears, loud as buzzsaws. Daisy swung her head around, half expecting to see a swarm of Japanese planes surrounding the little Defender. Smoke filled the cabin. Ash in her mouth, Daisy squeezed her eyes shut. Just a cloud, this is not happening, she repeated to herself.
Walker’s voice startled her out of it. “You okay back there, Rascal? Over.”
She found it hard to speak. “Affirmative, Captain. Just a little choked up.”
“You never quite get used to it,” he said, dipping a wing. “Flying over Pearl, I mean.”
Daisy saluted the blue water below. “Rest in peace, boys. Rascal, out.”
So many souls lost. Hearts broken. Needless horror. And yet Daisy thought of the boatloads of grit, mountains of courage and undaunted spirit that went along with it. This was what she wanted to remember. The good in the world had come out swinging. And won.
* * *
Author Note
Though this novel is purely fictional and the characters are products of my imagination, it was largely inspired by true stories of the Women’s Air Raid Defense (WARD), which was formed in the Hawaiian Islands by emergency Executive Order 9063 immediately following the attack on Pearl Harbor. I stumbled upon the story idea while researching for my novel The Lieutenant’s Nurse and was surprised I had never heard of them. With little information available, I ordered a book called Shuffleboard Pilots: The History of the Women’s Air Raid Defense in Hawai‘i 1941–1945 by Candace A. Chenoweth and A. Kam Napier that chronicles the WARD history and is full of fascinating details and vivid memories from the women themselves. As much as possible, I tried to weave their stories into my book: about training in ‘Iolani Palace, hiding out in flooded air raid shelters, trying to catch the mysterious lingerie thief, and plotting husbands as they flew out to battle, some never to return. The women whom I read about were courageous, intelligent, patriotic, fun, and full of heart. They were given a crash course in radar and codes, taught complicated calculations, and shown how to guide pilots into blacked-out runways or talk them home when they were lost. Their work was critical and essential to the war effort, and as soon as I finished reading Shuffleboard Pilots, I knew I had to write a novel about them so that the rest of the world would know their story. If you want to learn more, I highly recommend you read Shuffleboard Pilots.
The tagline on the front cover—they brought the flyboys safely home—came directly from a Kaua‘i WARD, Beatrice Dang, whose son I corresponded with. “One thing my mom would say when I asked what she did... In a sassy way she said, ‘When the flyboys got lost, we brought them home.’” I thought this perfectly summed them up.
I hope I have done justice to these amazing women!
In a few places, I had to take creative license and tweaked facts to fit the story—which is often the case in historical fiction. One such scenario is when Walker Montgomery is flying the P-40 out of Hale‘iwa Field at the start of the book. Walker was a navy pilot and the P-40s at Hale‘iwa were US Army Air Corps planes that had been temporarily moved from Wheeler Field. Lieutenants Harry M. Brown, Robert J. Rogers, John J. Webster, George S. Welch, and Kenneth A. Taylor were the brave pilots who between them took down nine enemy planes that morning.
As always, I would love to thank my wonderful publisher, MIRA Books, my brilliant editor, Margot Mallinson, and my amazing agent, Elaine Spencer. I still have to pinch myself regularly to make sure it’s all real—that I now have four gorgeous books in the world, with a fifth in the works. So many people are involved in putting out a book, and I am so grateful to have such a supportive and awesome team rooting for me every step of the way. Also, to friends and family who were by my side as I brainstormed, plotted, wrote, edited, promoted, ruminated, lamented, and obsessed over my book. Your love and support have not gone unnoticed.
Also, I am extremely grateful to several expert readers who helped check for technical accuracy: Dr. Bill Wiecking; William S. Hochman, Lt.Col., USMC (retired) and Commissioner (retired) Marin County Superior Court; and Robert L. Dixon, Lt.Col., USAF (retired). I am honored that they gave me their time.
And lastly, to Hawai‘i, thank you for being such a unique, special, and magical place. I am blessed to call you home.
XO
Sara
RADAR GIRLS
Sara Ackerman
Reader’s Guide
QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION
The WARDs answered the call of duty during a very intense time, just after the attack on Pearl Harbor, and the fear of invasion was real. If asked, do you think you would have stayed in Hawai‘i and joined, or would you have preferred to evacuate to the Mainland? What other ways did women contribute to the war effort?
Did you know about the Women’s Air Raid Defense program prior to reading this book? If so, how did you hear about it? If not, were you surprised to learn about it? Did you learn anything new about the attack on Pearl Harbor and its aftermath?
The four women, Daisy, Fluff, Betty and Lei, all came from different backgrounds, and yet became the best of friends. Which of the four character
s do you identify with the most? Why? Do you have friends who have bonded through challenging life experiences?
The WARDs replaced men in an active war zone and faced plenty of skepticism, discrimination and outright hostility because they were women. How do you think they handled it? Have you ever encountered something similar in your own life? How challenging is it to work in a male-dominated field?
War is known to bring out the worst in people, but it can also bring out the best, and stories of courage and hope and survival abound. How did the characters in the book react to the pressures of war on their doorstep? Do you have any family stories of living through or fighting in the war?
How do you think becoming a member of the Women’s Air Raid Defense shaped Daisy’s journey?
Hawai‘i was under martial law through much of WWII, which included blackouts, curfew and rationing. How do you think that would have affected you? What food and drink would you have the hardest time living without?
Do you think it will be possible for Daisy to forgive Mr. Montgomery? What about her mother? How much did Louise’s mental illness affect the rest of her life?
After Dunn assaulted Fluff on their date, it takes the women catching Dunn in the act for Nixon to finally do something about it. How else could they have handled the situation? How would that same behavior have been treated today? Has much changed?
What similarities do you see between life during wartime and life during the COVID-19 pandemic?
What did you think of the ending and the final flight? Have you ever been to the Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor? Or other war memorials either national or international? Which ones? How did you feel being there?
Also by Sara Ackerman
Island of Sweet Pies and Soldiers
The Lieutenant’s Nurse
Red Sky Over Hawaii
ISBN-13: 9780369704832
Radar Girls Page 30