The women of WARD
Radar Girls
In Radar Girls by Sara Ackerman, we follow the lives of young women living in Oahu before and after Pearl Harbor, and how they rise to the call of duty by joining the Women’s Air Raid Defense (WARD). WARD was a civilian organization that, like so many other aspects of American life during the war, saw women in roles they hadn’t traditionally filled to allow men to instead enter combat. The women of WARD originally assembled and trained in such iconic Oahu landmarks as the Royal Hawaiian Hotel and the Iolani Palace before serving in secret at Fort Shafter. In WARD, women worked with radar which was still in its early days to help plot aircraft positions and maintain the safety of Oahu throughout the war. Women in WARD were required to pass an intelligence test, be child-free, and fall between the ages of 20 and 34.
Inspired by real women, this novel gives readers a sense of life in Oahu before Hawaii was a U.S. state, as well as a taste of the high intensity of everyday life post Pearl Harbor. —Alicia Herron
Life of a WASP
The Flight Girls
In The Flight Girls’by Noelle Salazar, follow women who train to and become Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASPs) at Avenger Field in Sweetwater, Texas. A critical component of the war effort, WASPs tested and ferried aircraft as well as trained new pilots, freeing up male pilots to take on combat roles. Like WARD, the WASPs had no military standing and have only recently become a more visible part of World War II history. Also inspired by real women, readers will enjoy the flying and taste of the challenging life of a WASP pilot. —AH
Now on DVD
Flying Boat
Director and pilot Dirk Braun's film Flying Boat is now available for purchase on Amazon. The documentary, which screened at EAA AirVenture in 2021 and had a limited theatrical release in Los Angeles, is a love letter to one of the world's most distinctive aircraft.
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