Radar Girls
On Sunday, December 7, 1941, on O’ahu, Hawaii, 23-year-old Daisy is at the beach while most islanders are at church, for she “preferred to be underwater with the pufferfish and the eagle rays.” She tethers her borrowed horse, Moon, to a nearby tree. Suddenly, the roar of airplanes in the sky spook Moon and, freeing himself, he gallops away. Daisy is terrified, not only from the attacking Japanese aircraft but from Moon’s disappearance. Daisy is fired from her job at the horse ranch by the inconsiderate owner, Montgomery, but the same day, she is invited by a kind military general to join the Women’s Air Raid Defense (WARD). This secret unit is being set up to guide pilots into blacked-out airstrips and track unidentified planes across Pacific skies. Following intensive training, Daisy and her group, code-named Rascal, excel in their tasks, to the admiration of all. Daisy and Walker, a navy pilot and Montgomery’s son, have a budding romance.
Sara Ackerman notes that she came across the information about the WARD unit and, surprised at not having heard about them, based her novel on chronicles of those courageous women. The story transports us to Hawaii’s lush tropical islands to savor the scenery. Following the initial devastating attack, war rages on in the Pacific. As a Hawaiian, Ackerman’s firsthand knowledge of the locales, flora and fauna, culture, and cuisine is portrayed in realistic descriptions. Ackerman also does a superb job of introducing readers to the workings of radar in its early days, and its use in the defense of Hawaii. The relationships and rivalries between the women, as well as their dealings with servicemen, are narrated in a captivating way. Also, Ackerman adroitly handles depictions of sexual assault in that close-proximity environment. An informative novel.
