Radioman: An Eyewitness Account of Pearl Harbor and World War II in the Pacific

by Carol Edgemon Hipperson

Radioman is the biography of Ray Daves, a noncommissioned officer in the U.S. Navy and an eyewitness to World War II. It is based on the author’s handwritten notes from a series of interviews that began on the eighty-second birthday of the combat veteran and gives a first-person account of the world’s first battles between aircraft carriers. Ray Daves grew up on a small farm near Little Rock, Arkansas. Impatient with school and the prospect of becoming a farmer like his father, he joined the CCC and went from there to the navy, where he learned to use the radio to send messages, and soon found himself in the momentary peacefulness of Pearl Harbor. Most of America’s World War II veterans were not in uniform when the war began. Daves is one of the few who was. He could also tell what was happening on the bridge of the famous carrier Yorktown before it went down and of the secretive relationship between the Russian and American forces in Alaska at the time. Carol Edgemon Hipperson’s discovery of this one man’s inspiring story is shared with great skill and energy. A must-read for those looking for a personal, intimate account of the events of this tumultuous time in American history.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, World War II, War, Naval History

304 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 2008

Reviews

[John Lomnicki,]

Ray was at Pearl Harbor and Midway on the Yorktown. His story is unforgettable. I read this to my wife after I had read it, we really talked about it and the war. Carol Hipperson, the writer, really understood how to describe Ray and how he would describe his life and what he experienced. I have read numerous books on war and personal accounts, but never a personal level as Ray tells the story.

I rarely recommend a book because of so many different personal tastes, but this is different. I highly recommend this book.

[Steve Comstock]

Interesting, folksy, memoir of a Pearl Harbor survivor and WW2 Navy Radioman.

[Anthony Bracciante]

This is a very personable account of a young man who entered the Navy prior to WW II largely due to the effects of the economic crisis brought on by the depression and a desire to experience more of the world than the family farm he grew up on. Ray Daves was an eyewitness of the attack on Pearl Harbor and a survivor of the sinking of the USS Yorktown at the Battle of Midway. His biography helps explain why many of his generation, including my own father, were reluctant to speak about the things they witnessed. Mr Daves does not glorify war and is candid in sharing the losses he faced. I highly recommend this book if you want to learn the human side of World War II. If battle facts and details are what you are looking for than this book will not interest you.

[Gina]

A moving account of the Pacific Theater fight during WW2 as told by a young Navy veteran of the war. He manages to survive the attack on Pearl Harbor and the battles of the Coral Sea and Midway. Witnessing the death of many of his fellow sailors, he manages to marry and live a fulfilling life. However, this life is shadowed by the loss of life he witnessed and suffered nightmares for the rest of his life. This story had special significance for me as my father was a Navy radioman in WW2 and underwent similar experiences. Our country owes much to the courageous men and women who made great sacrifices on our behalf. Given the catastrophic effects of war on both civilians and those fighting them, tales such as this are crucial to help us try to avoid them whenever possible.

[David Engel]

I enjoyed this revealing narrative of a veteran who was in service from before 12/7/41 through the end of WWII. Eyewitness accounts appeal to me and this is well told without hyperbole and also a palatable peek into 1940s America.

[John F.]

Great story!

I really enjoyed this book. I, too, an a Chief Radioman of the United States Navy, Retired. Take care brother. Thank you!

[Mark Albertson]

An interesting second-hand memoire of a witness to Pearl Harbor and World War II. As a former radioman, I appreciated the descriptions of his training and job. I enjoyed the book!

[Heather]

I am intrigued by World War II history. The strength and bravery in books from that era always inspire me but, I have to admit, I can sometimes get lost in the jargon that the author's use. I haven't been in any of the Armed Forces so some of the language goes right over my head. Radioman by Carol Edgemon Hipperson is a book that gave me all kinds of military information about life in the Navy back then without going too far over my head.
Ray Daves story is told from the moment he signs up for the Civilian Conservation Corps with his parent's consent at age 18 until the war in the Pacific ends and he takes his discharge from the Navy.
While in the CCC he heard about the Navy's service school. He thought it sounded a lot like a trade school and the thought of learning a trade seemed like a great idea.
He fudged his age just a bit and got into Navy radio school when he was 17. Looking back on it he said that even if he had known that WWII was on the horizon it wouldn't have changed his mind. The Navy was exciting for the young man and being a radioman was a dream come true.
In mid-April 1939 Daves headed for basic training. The Navy cut his hair and supplied him with his uniforms. Dress whites and blues for Sunday and formal occasions and "undress" uniforms-whites and blues for everyday use.
Basic training had all of the recruits scrambling to learn many new things. Daves said one of the craziest things to get used to was sleeping on a hammock. "It was like sleeping on a banana. You had to stay on your back or the hammock would flip upside down and dump you on the floor."
In May of 1940 Daves had orders to attend Fleet Radio School in San Diego. He recalled that radio school was like, "high school without the spitwads."
He knew Morse Code from being in the Boy Scouts but he would need to be much faster if he was going to be a radio man for the Navy.
Daves was assigned to a the submarine base at Pearl Harbor. He often went out on subs as part of the "measuring crew." These men were put on subs during test runs to go down the captain's checklist and make sure that all of the repairs that had been ordered had been done.
They were on alert at Pacific Fleet headquarters in Pearl Harbor in December of 1941 but all the messages the radio men were getting said the Japanese were more likely to attack the base in the Philippines or maybe Thailand. In Hawaii, they were more concerned about Japanese spies and terrorists.
Before going to bed on Dec. 6. Daves spent the night out with his buddies and then went to work his shift in the radio room from 8 p.m.-midnight. He tried to radio his buddy George on the Arizona but found he had already gone to bed. He also tried to radio buddies on the Flusser and the Richmond but couldn't raise any of them. The only radio traffic he was picking up were weather reports from subs in the South Pacific. They always checked in with the base when they resurfaced.
The next morning Daves was exhausted from working a double shift. He tried in vain to sleep. The sun was bright and even turning away from it didn't help. He got up, took a shower and headed to the mess hall for bacon and pancakes.
As he was walking to the mess hall he heard plane engines. It sounded like they were very low and he remembers thinking that those pilots were going to be in big trouble for buzzing the base.
He said, "As they passed overhead, the whole formation banked in unison toward Ford Island (where the ships were anchored). That's when I was their markings. They weren't ours."
The story unfolds quickly from there. It tells of the scramble to find and help survivors of the horrible attack.
Later on he survives the Battle at Midway and was then sent to the Aleutian Islands. Through all of his deployments and moves he steadily tells the story of battles, friends and loved ones back home. He tells of his experience in battle and also of his everyday life in the Navy.
This book has forced me to make room in my top 10 for another great book. I feel like I learned a lot from this book as well as being intrigued by the story being told.

[Devin Poore]

The simple prose and interesting subject matter made this an extremely quick read. Radioman Ray Daves found himself at Pearl Harbor and on the Yorktown at Coral Sea and Midway, providing a first-hand account of some of the most pivotal events of the first six months of the war in the Pacific. Written years after the events in question, I'm not sure as to the exactness of every technical detail (he does recall watching tractors tow aircraft on the Yorktown, when in fact she never carried tractors) but the feeling and emotion of the events are all there and ring true. I'm always on the lookout for accounts of the battles from the enlisted point of view, am fascinated by the limited knowledge of those involved and how that contrasts with what we now know transpired in the battles, and this book is filled with such instances.

Highly recommended account, told by someone that was there.

[Winnie]

Ray Daves' eyewitness account of his WWII experiences as a radioman. Author Hipperson brings his story alive. The Arkansas farm boy was at Pearl Harbor when it was bombed. Interesting first-hand stories of one man and his survival. One can see why we call people from that era the "Greatest Generation."

[John]

An umusual book, written as a story being told by an enlisted man in the US Navy. He joined the Navy before the war began and was stationed at Pearl Harbor on that fateful Dec 7. Reading about what war is really like for a young man is a great experience. Ms. Hipperson has added extensive historical notes that put Mr. Daves memories in the right perspective. A very interesting book!

[Jeff]

A very nice read. The entire book is written in a first-person, conversational tone. It's like listening to an old veteran tell you his experience while sitting on the front porch, sipping iced tea. Highly recommended.

[Ed]

The first person account of Ray Daves from his enlistment thru the end of WWII. A very pleasurable read and highly recommended. Reading Radioman is almost like sitting 'round the kitchen table listening to Ray talk about the war.

[james]

This is the story of a US Navy vet who was present at Pearl Harbor for the Japanese attack, then served on the USS Yorktown, at the battles of the Coral Sea and Midway at which the Yorktown was sunk. He then spent the rest of the war in Alaska. This a fine, quick moving, story.

[Robert Meyer]

This first hand account puts you right there on the front line seeing and feeling what this author saw and felt. And it refreshing that it was from the viewpoint of the regular guy, not the captian or some officer. Excellent read.

[Ann Costello]

An account of an eyewitness to the attack on Pearl Harbor in December, 1941. This is unexpectedly (for me, at least) moving account of the attack. There is an immediacy and clarity to the man's story which appealed to me very much.

[Bill]

I always think I can't respect this generation more. Then I read an exceptional book like this. My respect for the Greatest Generation grows even more!
Ray Daves ended up living in Deer Park, WA. I had to read it again when I found out. Still an amazing book about an amazing generation.

[Wick]

Down to earth account of an interesting period in history.

[Denise]

Wow, did this guy see and go through a lot! I'm so glad he shared his story with us!

[Mariah]

Very well written, compelling account. I was drawn in by the personal story and emotion in the book. I also loved the footnotes and all the information they imparted.

[Cathy Brake]

Excellent read. It had me at page 2. Its like you are sitting having coffee with him.