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

From Booklist
This worthy addition to the World War II shelves is based on Hipperson’s interviews with Ray Davis, a U.S. Navy radioman and petty officer during the war. Davis joined the navy before the war to get away from the family farm and had already served in the Arctic when the outbreak of war caught him at Pearl Harbor. Assigned to the torpedo bombers of the carrier Yorktown, he was lucky enough to survive the squadron’s strike against the Japanese and the subsequent sinking of his ship. Much of the rest of the war he spent in Alaska, flying missions against the Japanese-held Kuriles and working with Russian pilots sent to assist with the ferrying of lend-lease American aircraft. He also conducted a long-distance courtship of the woman to whom he was still married in 2007. A very readable memoir by a member of the generation that, however great it may have been, definitely did a thankless job well enough to keep things from becoming a great deal worse for the U.S. --Roland GreenReview
Advance Praise for Radioman “Radioman is a fine and informative outline of an everyday American who enlisted in the US Navy before World War Two and experienced first hand war in the Pacific. It is a useful and informative introduction to the world of enlisted men in a different era. In some ways it resembles the more practical side of the Sand Pebbles.”--Newt Gingrich

“Radioman is the best written biography of a WWII career I've ever read. This book will cement the bonds between any reader and ‘the Greatest Generation’.”—Mal Middlesworth, National President, Pearl Harbor Survivors Association, Inc.

“Radioman is truly an engrossing and well-spun narrative. Hipperson retains Daves’ fresh, youthful voice in a story that balances his colorful attention to detail with his broader perceptions. For those of us who have never experienced war first-hand, it is a compelling, action-filled story that moves quickly, while offering a rich array of interpretive notes and timelines for great reflection and substance.”— Marsha Rooney, Curator of History, Northwest Museum of Arts & Culture

"From battle to battle, Radioman recounts a survivor's tale that must not be forgotten. Insights, memories, and most importantly--lessons. Never forget."--Vice Admiral John G. Morgan, Jr., United States Navy, Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Information, Plans, and Strategy

“Fate put Ray Daves in the middle of several defining moments in United States military history. In Carol Edgemon Hipperson’s book we learn of the sights, the sounds and even smells that Daves experienced during his 6 years, 4 months, 17 days, sixteen hours, and forty-two seconds in the US Navy. Memories brought to life again in Hipperson’s Radioman.”—Tim Schurtter, Program Officer, Veterans History Project, Library of Congress

“Fate placed WWII sailor Ray Daves in a rare spectrum of naval service. In addition to witnessing the attack on Pearl Harbor, he saw service on a destroyer, submarine, cruiser, aircraft carrier, including the Battles of Coral Sea and Midway, and eventually aviation duties in Alaska. Truly not the usual war experiences of a member of his generation.”—Jack A. Green, Public Affairs Officer, Naval Historical Center