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Posted on 03/08/2005 10:10:02 PM PST by SAMWolf
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 are acknowledged, affirmed and commemorated.
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| Our Mission: The FReeper Foxhole is dedicated to Veterans of our Nation's military forces and to others who are affected in their relationships with Veterans. In the FReeper Foxhole, Veterans or their family members should feel free to address their specific circumstances or whatever issues concern them in an atmosphere of peace, understanding, brotherhood and support. The FReeper Foxhole hopes to share with it's readers an open forum where we can learn about and discuss military history, military news and other topics of concern or interest to our readers be they Veteran's, Current Duty or anyone interested in what we have to offer. If the Foxhole makes someone appreciate, even a little, what others have sacrificed for us, then it has accomplished one of it's missions. We hope the Foxhole in some small way helps us to remember and honor those who came before us.
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In the dark days after Pearl Harbor, many of the islands' young women joined the Women's Air Raid Defense to help prevent another disaster.  Women's Air Raid Defense (WARD) staffers on the job in Oahu's information and control center in 1943. On the right is the radar plotting board, which displays data received from radar stations around the island. Workers positioned markers on the large "shuffleboard" at the center of the room to keep track of contacts. The room was nearly filled by a huge table -- a plotting board -- with the familiar outline of the Hawaiian Islands superimposed by a grid pattern. Around it, Signal Corps plotters sat or stood, talking intermittently with distant radar operators, code-named "Oscars," over telephone headsets. Using implements like shuffleboard sticks, the plotters -- known as "Rascals" -- were placing and moving small plastic markers on the board to indicate the locations and status of their Oscars' radar contacts. Overseeing the action from a balcony running around two sides of the room sat the senior controller, the officer in charge. With him were military and civil aviation liaison officers, who correlated the markers with their service's flights. If they could not identify a given track, the senior controller would have the pursuit officer, a fighter pilot, scramble interceptors to visually identify the "bogy," and, if it was an enemy plane, shoot it down. One by one, during lulls in activity, the young women stepped up to the plotters, adjusted their headsets and waited until they heard, "Rascal, this is Oscar, can you read me?" All around Oahu that night, radar operators were astonished when a self-assured female voice replied, "Oscar, this is Rascal. I read you loud and clear." Women's Air Raid Defense plotters had just taken over the night shift at "Little Robert," the Air Defense Command's information and control center (ICC). For the first time, American women had officially replaced male soldiers in a war zone and were directly participating in the defense of American territory. Little Robert had been built by Signal Corps troops in the autumn of 1941 as the hub of the Aircraft Warning Service. Radar contacts, ground observers' sightings and Wheeler Field's interceptor status came into the ICC via a buried telephone cable running around the island. The system was tested on September 27, with Army pursuit planes satisfactorily intercepting "attacking" carrier-based Navy aircraft. The radars had detected and tracked both Japanese attack waves on December 7, and even two cruiser-launched scout planes that had reconnoitered Pearl Harbor and the Lahaina Roads alternate fleet anchorage just before the raid, but an effective air defense operations system was lacking. Once the shock resulting from the attack had subsided, the Army created the Air Defense Command to control the 14th Pursuit Wing and the Anti-Aircraft Artillery Brigade, plus available Navy and Marine fighters and anti-aircraft weapons. Brigadier General Howard C. Davidson, the commander of the 14th Pursuit Wing, was appointed Air Defense commander, and the ICC became his operations center.  Fort Shafter Davidson also had to give up ICC staff from Oahu -- where air raids were expected at any time -- to create aircraft warning units for Samoa, Fiji and New Caledonia. The role of the Women's Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF) in Britain's air defense centers was well known, but conservative congressional opposition in 1941 had blocked establishment of an American equivalent. (Created in mid-1942, the Women's Army Corps eventually staffed 27 aircraft warning units.) Davidson appealed to the War Department for an emergency executive order creating a WAAF-like organization for Hawaii. Executive Order 9063 was approved on Christmas Day. General Davidson telephoned a Honolulu couple he knew, asking for their help in finding some bright, trustworthy and reliable young women. Alexander and Una Walker were kamaainas (lifetime Hawaii residents), and Una knew many local women through her Red Cross work. When Davidson called back an hour later, they had a list of 20 names for him. The day after Christmas, Davidson met with Mrs. Walker and the 20 young women at the huge pink Royal Hawaiian Hotel. Being kamaainas like the Walkers, the women shared the trauma of December 7 and had personal as well as patriotic reasons for volunteering. To Nancy Hedemann and others, "It was the defense of our home which came clear, then service to your country." Pat Morgan, from a New England medical missionary family that had arrived in Hawaii in 1828, had found the raid "at once exciting and terrifying" and felt they "were all consumed with an urge to do something violent."  General Howard C. Davidson, 1942 General Davidson addressed them in an upstairs meeting room, overlooking white beaches strung with barbed wire. Due to tight security, there was little specific he could tell them, only that they would be doing critical secret work for the Army, replacing men for duty in forward areas. They should be between 20 and 34 years of age and childless, be able to pass a physical examination and an Army Intelligence background investigation, be willing to work any shift and abide by special regulations. They would be appointed to the civil service, with pay of $120 per month, and would be furnished uniforms and quarters at Fort Shafter, with officers' mess privileges. "[We] would be considered officers," Hedemann recalled, "so that in the event of capture by the enemy, [we] would be treated according to the…international law regarding prisoners of war." For an organizational name, Davidson suggested Women's Air Defense. The women inserted the word Raid to make a more euphonious acronym, and thus the WARD was born. Administratively, it was known as the WARD Detachment, Company A, 515th Signal Aircraft Warning Regiment (Special), reporting to the commanding general, 7th Fighter Command (formerly 14th Pursuit Wing). The WARD was transferred to the Army Air Forces in 1943. The WARDs-to-be were to report to the Army-requisitioned Iolani Palace on January 1 for formal induction and training, and were asked to bring any interested friends who met the standards. Davidson soon realized that the population of eligible kamaainas was too small. He also learned, however, that some military wives wanted to stay in Hawaii, in spite of air raid alarms and invasion rumors, and he obtained authority to take anyone going into the WARD off the evacuation lists. About half of those who gathered at Iolani Palace on New Year's Day were military wives. Many had witnessed the horrors of the December 7 raid close up. Joy Shaw, wife of a captain at the Marine barracks, remembered driving behind "a truckload of bodies stacked to the top like logs, naked, blackened by oil, smoke and blood, boys from the various ships." To Kathy Cooper, 19-year-old Navy daughter and wife, Hickam Field had looked from her parents' home "like a great sea of flame about a mile long." She felt at that moment that "If a Japanese pilot had walked into the house, I would have tried to kill him."
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Or an Oregonian Skwerl. :-)
Texas Tech has one of these. Concerts were performed every Friday and noon while I was a student. Very cool for any music or mechanical buff.
A carillon is a musical instrument composed of at least 23 carillon bells, arranged in chromatic sequence, so tuned as to produce concordant harmony when many bells are sounded together. It is played from a keyboard that allows expression through variation of touch. The keys are struck with the half-closed hand. In addition, the larger bells are connected to foot pedals.
Although bells were first made by man during the Bronze Age, it was not until the 15th century that Flemish bell founders discovered the process of accurately tuning bells. The art of making carillon bells almost died out by the 19th century. It is only in the 20th century that carillon bell founding was revived and has surpassed the quality and tuning of 15th century bells.
The world's greatest concentration of carillons is still in the Low Countries of Europe (Belgium, The Netherlands, northern France and northwest Germany). The art of the carillon has spread world wide, however, with instruments on every continent except Antarctica. Nearly 200 exist in North America.
Curses, foiled again!
Hi miss Feather. Little ole Bitty Girl sure has a strong pinkie.
DOH! Speaking of Rover, have you started looking for a pooch yet Snippy?
just curious.
I received 5 freepmails from ~EagleNebula~ . Did y'all?
Yep. Somebody got at least seven.
That is not kosher.
Because no Rabbi was present?
$120 per month "Not bad for 1942."
My father told me about 1953 that the lowest salary that anyone in "Who's Who" made was $100 per month. He was probably talking about 1940-42 era. Good bucks in those days.
Dang it Valin, I meant $100 a WEEK. Just came back to me. Getting too old to remember 1952 in detail, I guess. Sorry.
Yep, back on nights till next Thursday night.
Happy, Happy, Joy, Joy
Regards
alfa6 ;>}
Kind of an interesting situation on the political side of the Colorado foxhole. Our Republican Governor, who has been lecturing the country about adopting taxpayer bill of rights like ours has proposed a measure to weaken our TABOR. Now his nose is out of joint because he was called out for this in a lead editorial in the Wall Street Journal a few days ago. As far as I'm concerned, he deserved it.
Yes. I have been looking at the local shelter's website but no pups. I've nothing against saving an older dog but since I want to have him in the store I'd like to start him as a pup to get used to customers and the atmosphere of the place. A mix lab/golden retriever or lab/shep mix, something along those lines. I refuse to shop for one at a pet store and don't want to pay for a purebred, nothing wrong with a mut but I have no idea where the puppies are around here. :-(
Your Gov sounds like all politicians. They speak with forked tongue.
At one time there was talk of Owens running for Prez in 2008, but right now I don't think even I would support him.
And Morning Glory to you CT! Did you listen to Hugh's piece on Dan Un-Rathers "respectful" interview of Saddam Hussein (with "I'm Your Puppet" playing in the background)? Hilarious!
Anyway, great read today and hats off to these brave woman.
To shift captain Joy Shaw, it seemed that "everybody [was] following the Mongolian General Prudential Rule: 'When in danger or in doubt, run in circles, scream and shout!'"
I tried to get more info on where this expression came from and why the title. Not much available. Is it synonymous with "organized like a Chinese Fire drill"? Or perhaps what the Marine's refer to as a "cluster f_ _ _?
I did find what's known as:
The General Prudential Rule
If exceptional parents hear anything in the course of their tribulations it's "that's against the rules," "the rules don't allow that," and "we can't because of the rules." Those sentences-or variations of them-all translate into denial or rejection of services, therapy, equipment, programs, or placements. It's not unusual for the "rulers" to hide behind the rules, regulations, and rulings. School officials, insurance company clerks, health maintenance organizations, and government agencies are used to refusing both services and access to people and families with developmental disabilities.
But I don't see the connection with a "Mongolian General"? As you can see I'm confused and appeal to the wise to educate me.
I'd say good morning - cause I'm just getting time to check in, but it's really - yikes - night!
Sam, I thoroughly enjoyed this topic today. As a female, HAM operator who works as a drafter doing all kind of plotting daily this was right up my alley. I think I would have really hit my stride working as one of those WARDs had I been around during WW2. Thanks!
And another super-special personal thing for the day!!! hehehe.... the best son-in-law in the world was stationed at Weisbaden..... the one that had Thanksgiving dinner with The President in 2003 - but that was in Baghdad. :-)
Yes, ma'am... I got 7 of 'em. I'm still in class giving a mid-term exam and haven't had time to try to find out whassupwidat. Got a clue for me?
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