Women's Air Raid Defense

Several days after the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, Una Walker, a military spouse, was called by Army Air Corps Brig.

Davidson, Walker and Mrs. John Howard, another military spouse, met the recruits at the Royal Hawaiian Hotel in Waikiki on December 26, the day after Admiral Nimitz's arrival.

[2][3][4][5] The WARD would "relieve urgently needed men for combat duty" and allow the women to operate the air defense center.

[5] After training, WARD started to work in shifts at Fort Shafter, staffing the air defense center 24 hours a day.

[5] WARD also worked with army officers who knew the locations of friendly aircraft and helped find lost planes.

[3][8] Executive Order #9063 gave the organization powers to recruit and consider the volunteers civil servants for the federal government.

[1] A book by Kam Napier and Candace Chenowith, Shuffleboard Pilots, documents the history of the organization and was based on the personal experience of women who worked as WARDs.