Comments on: The Women's Air Raid Defense: Protecting the Hawaiian Islands http://www.historynet.com/the-womens-air-raid-defense-protecting-the-hawaiian-islands.htm?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=the-womens-air-raid-defense-protecting-the-hawaiian-islands From the World's Largest History Magazine Publisher Wed, 15 Feb 2012 04:36:36 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3 By: heather walden http://www.historynet.com/the-womens-air-raid-defense-protecting-the-hawaiian-islands.htm#comment-633729 heather walden Fri, 08 Jul 2011 15:11:25 +0000 #comment-633729 hi there, very interesting. you are a hard woman to catch up with. brilliant as always, Heather hi there,

very interesting. you are a hard woman to catch up with. brilliant as always, Heather

]]> By: Ron Gilliam http://www.historynet.com/the-womens-air-raid-defense-protecting-the-hawaiian-islands.htm#comment-529609 Ron Gilliam Thu, 21 Apr 2011 04:32:34 +0000 #comment-529609 Will Vaus: The roster of the WARD in the back of Candace A. Chenoweth and A. Kam Napier's book, "Shuffleboard Pilots: The History of the Women's Air Raid Defense in Hawaii, 1941-1945" (Honolulu: Arizona Memorial Museum Association, 1991), lists a "Fluff" Ford (later Mrs. Jack White) as belonging to the Oahu unit, but has no mention of a Jean Palmer Davis (Van Auken). This doesn't entirely rule out her having been a WARD, however, as the roster contains only around 550 names, while page 80 states that "over 650 women had served in the WARD," and page 81 mentions that the official records of the WARD were destroyed in a fire at the Federal Personnel Records Center in St. Louis, so WARD reunions became the main tool for keeping alive the history of the organization. You might check the Internet if you haven't already. Good luck with your book project! Will Vaus: The roster of the WARD in the back of Candace A. Chenoweth and A. Kam Napier's book, "Shuffleboard Pilots: The History of the Women's Air Raid Defense in Hawaii, 1941-1945" (Honolulu: Arizona Memorial Museum Association, 1991), lists a "Fluff" Ford (later Mrs. Jack White) as belonging to the Oahu unit, but has no mention of a Jean Palmer Davis (Van Auken). This doesn't entirely rule out her having been a WARD, however, as the roster contains only around 550 names, while page 80 states that "over 650 women had served in the WARD," and page 81 mentions that the official records of the WARD were destroyed in a fire at the Federal Personnel Records Center in St. Louis, so WARD reunions became the main tool for keeping alive the history of the organization. You might check the Internet if you haven't already. Good luck with your book project!

]]> By: Will Vaus http://www.historynet.com/the-womens-air-raid-defense-protecting-the-hawaiian-islands.htm#comment-451775 Will Vaus Thu, 03 Feb 2011 17:59:26 +0000 #comment-451775 This was a fascinating article. I am writing a biography about Sheldon Van Auken, a Navy Ensign who was at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. I believe his wife, Jean Palmer Davis Van Auken, may have been a WARD. Her friend Allene Stidham Ford (later White) was a WARD. I would appreciate hearing from anyone who might have information about either of these women, especially Jean Van Auken. Thank you. This was a fascinating article. I am writing a biography about Sheldon Van Auken, a Navy Ensign who was at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. I believe his wife, Jean Palmer Davis Van Auken, may have been a WARD. Her friend Allene Stidham Ford (later White) was a WARD. I would appreciate hearing from anyone who might have information about either of these women, especially Jean Van Auken. Thank you.

]]> By: Susan Sedberry http://www.historynet.com/the-womens-air-raid-defense-protecting-the-hawaiian-islands.htm#comment-403412 Susan Sedberry Thu, 23 Dec 2010 03:00:05 +0000 #comment-403412 In the late 1980's and early 1990's, I had the privilege of meeting and spending a good amount of time with Joy Shaw from your article. Her husband who went on to become a 4-star Brig General was already deceased so I never met him, but she shared many a stories of their time at Pearl Harbor and her time as a WARD. It was such an honor knowing her and having her share, first hand, the role that women played during the war. Patriots with honor, integrity and passion. In the late 1980's and early 1990's, I had the privilege of meeting and spending a good amount of time with Joy Shaw from your article. Her husband who went on to become a 4-star Brig General was already deceased so I never met him, but she shared many a stories of their time at Pearl Harbor and her time as a WARD. It was such an honor knowing her and having her share, first hand, the role that women played during the war. Patriots with honor, integrity and passion.

]]> By: Betsy Brown http://www.historynet.com/the-womens-air-raid-defense-protecting-the-hawaiian-islands.htm#comment-163871 Betsy Brown Tue, 22 Dec 2009 23:29:19 +0000 #comment-163871 I was a WARD, as we called ourselves, late in the game==from May 1945 to September, when the WARDs were disbanded, and I stayed and worked on the Honolulu Advertiser. There was such secrecy at the time that I had no idea of how the unit had been formed. It was so secret that I don't know how I even knew how to apply, except that I was working on a San Francisco paper and somehow got wind of it. In 1945, it was still so secret that we weren't supposed to tell anyone what we did, but we wore blue gabardine uniforms with matching caps and were free to put insignia of our own on the cap==mine was wings from an Air Force boyfriend. And we would go to Honolulu and come back on a bus clearly marked "Fort Shafter." We were so busy with all the aircrft, and many distress calls, that we were only allowed to stay on the board for 45 minutes at a time because it was so hard to concentrate and keep all the numbers in our heads. Are there any other WARDs out there reading this? Betsy Brown I was a WARD, as we called ourselves, late in the game==from May 1945 to September, when the WARDs were disbanded, and I stayed and worked on the Honolulu Advertiser. There was such secrecy at the time that I had no idea of how the unit had been formed. It was so secret that I don't know how I even knew how to apply, except that I was working on a San Francisco paper and somehow got wind of it. In 1945, it was still so secret that we weren't supposed to tell anyone what we did, but we wore blue gabardine uniforms with matching caps and were free to put insignia of our own on the cap==mine was wings from an Air Force boyfriend. And we would go to Honolulu and come back on a bus clearly marked "Fort Shafter."

We were so busy with all the aircrft, and many distress calls, that we were only allowed to stay on the board for 45 minutes at a time because it was so hard to concentrate and keep all the numbers in our heads.
Are there any other WARDs out there reading this? Betsy Brown

]]> By: Ron Gilliam http://www.historynet.com/the-womens-air-raid-defense-protecting-the-hawaiian-islands.htm#comment-55157 Ron Gilliam Fri, 24 Apr 2009 13:06:57 +0000 #comment-55157 Yes, history --honest accurate history-- is indeed interesting. Researching for this article corrected some misconconcetions of my own about the Dec. 7th attack and Hawaii's role in WWII. Thanks for the kudos. Yes, history –honest accurate history– is indeed interesting. Researching for this article corrected some misconconcetions of my own about the Dec. 7th attack and Hawaii's role in WWII. Thanks for the kudos.

]]> By: Parker Haney http://www.historynet.com/the-womens-air-raid-defense-protecting-the-hawaiian-islands.htm#comment-40206 Parker Haney Sun, 08 Mar 2009 16:02:38 +0000 #comment-40206 I'm learning about WWII in my 5th grade Social Studies Class with Mrs. Petzold. My mother showed me this website because my Great Great Uncle (my grandfather's uncle) was Major General Howard C. Davidson who was then the Brigadier General mentioned in this piece. I find this article to be very interesting. I learned a lot from this and I plan to share this with my class. Thank you for providing this information. History is so interesting. Sincerely, Parker Haney I'm learning about WWII in my 5th grade Social Studies Class with Mrs. Petzold. My mother showed me this website because my Great Great Uncle (my grandfather's uncle) was Major General Howard C. Davidson who was then the Brigadier General mentioned in this piece. I find this article to be very interesting. I learned a lot from this and I plan to share this with my class. Thank you for providing this information. History is so interesting.
Sincerely, Parker Haney

]]> By: Ronald R. Gilliam http://www.historynet.com/the-womens-air-raid-defense-protecting-the-hawaiian-islands.htm#comment-24296 Ronald R. Gilliam Tue, 30 Dec 2008 20:09:56 +0000 #comment-24296 Julia Brinkloe: I'm glad you liked the piece; researching and writing it was a special pleasure, as I've always enjoyed my visits to the islands. Julia Brinkloe: I'm glad you liked the piece; researching and writing it was a special pleasure, as I've always enjoyed my visits to the islands.

]]> By: Julia M. Brinckloe http://www.historynet.com/the-womens-air-raid-defense-protecting-the-hawaiian-islands.htm#comment-13204 Julia M. Brinckloe Sun, 05 Oct 2008 12:13:02 +0000 #comment-13204 My aunt, Evelyn O'Brien, was a WARD in Honolulu during the War. She and her husband, RADM Leslie J. O'Brien, USN (ret.),were stationed on Oahu during the attack, 07 December 1941. She became a WARD supervisor under the islands' fighter command and was very proud of her service to aid in the war effort. I am delighted to find this information on the Women's Air Raid Defense and thank you for sharing an important piece of American wartime history. jb My aunt, Evelyn O'Brien, was a WARD in Honolulu during the War. She and her husband, RADM Leslie J. O'Brien, USN (ret.),were stationed on Oahu during the attack, 07 December 1941. She became a WARD supervisor under the islands' fighter command and was very proud of her service to aid in the war effort. I am delighted to find this information on the Women's Air Raid Defense and thank you for sharing an important piece of American wartime history. jb

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