U.S. DESTINY IS TO THE WEST, MAAS ASSERTS
Honolulu. August 5. Representative Maas (Republican) of Minnesota, House Naval Affairs Committee member on active duty as a Marine Corps colonel, said today, “We are either going to be an empire or we are going to be part of somebody else’s empire.
“There’s only one defense against modern warfare, and that is to strike first and hardest, otherwise you are licked before you have started.”
Excerpt from the Washington Post, August 6, 1941
Libby led Dan by the hand as she made her way through John Rodgers Airport, gazing at the new dawn that wrestled to replace the darkness. For the past month, they’d spent every evening together. They walked the beach at sunset and took rides around the island with friends. Mostly they spent their time talking about planes, flying, and the threat of war from both sides of the ocean.
But today was different. Today Libby had Dan to herself all day.
“Sorry, kiddo. No lessons today,” she muttered as she walked past the Piper Cub.
Dan lifted her hand to his lips and kissed it. “That’s right, little Piper. She’s all mine today.”
While Libby enjoyed giving flight lessons, her favorite part of her job was taking customers up on sunrise tours. She usually flew them in open-cockpit biplanes, making a ninety-minute loop to the west side of Oahu. Today, Dan would be Libby’s honored guest, and instead of the biplane she’d chosen George’s new Interstate Cadet with enclosed side-by-side seating.
“Get in and buckle up, sir,” she said in her best tour guide voice. “Today you will get a view of Hawaii from the air, something every tourist dreams of.”
After taxiing the Cadet to the runway, Libby pushed the throttle forward, the engine revved, and the Cadet lifted effortlessly into the sky. “As we lift off, Mr. Lukens, if you look to the west, opposite the rising sun, you’ll see Pearl Harbor. It’s a bit crowded this morning, and I’m sure you know the reason why even more than I—military secrets and all.”
Dan leaned forward to peer out the window. “No comment.” He grinned.
“As we turn, you’ll spot an industrial area to the north, then forest. Beyond that the Ko’olau Mountains.”
“Oh, I like the way that rolls off your tongue.”
Libby tried to ignore his comment, but she couldn’t help but smile. “To the south is the Pacific, of course. And to the east, with the rising sun, are Waikiki, Diamond Head, and downtown Honolulu.”
“My least favorite part of the island, if I may say so.”
“I agree.” Libby turned the plane toward the tropical side of the island. “Now comes the good part. Prepare for a beautiful flight over gray green pineapple fields and banana trees. We’ll reach our destination in about twenty minutes.”
They rode in comfortable silence the rest of the way. The landmass below sparkled green and alive as dew-covered vegetation reflected the sun’s first rays.
Libby sighed contentedly as they neared the farthest shore. “We’ll be landing today near the Haleiwa, an old hotel right at the edge of the ocean. It’s a beautiful place and … well, just wait.”
As Libby neared, she tilted the plane in a forty-five-degree angle and wagged her wings at the hotel. Then she set the plane down on the grass landing strip. A minute later a young boy could be seen hurrying down the runway with a two-wheeled banana wagon, his jet-black hair flapping against his forehead as he ran.
Libby jumped down from the plane and turned to Dan. “Hungry?”
The boy waved. “Aloha!”
“Aloha,” Libby and Dan responded in unison.
The wagon was filled with all types of breakfast items, and Libby’s stomach rumbled. The boy spread out a picnic blanket for them, offering a variety of fresh fruits and homemade breads.
“You sure know how to treat a guy.” Dan attacked the fruit placed before him, smiling as he bit into a slice of fresh mango. “The flight, the food—”
Libby slid off her white flight turban and tossed her hair. “They say the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach.”
After refueling at the airstrip, she flew the plane in the direction of Maui, a short hop from Oahu. “Have you see Haleakala yet? From the sky?”
“No, but I hope the volcano is extinct.”
“It’s only been two hundred years since the last eruption.”
Libby resumed the tour. “The Hawaiian name for the volcano is Hale-a-ka-la, which means ‘House of the Sun.’ According to legend, Maui kidnapped the sun god La from the top of Haleakala. Maui only released La once he agreed to move more slowly through the sky, giving these islands sunshine and warmth. There it is.” She pointed.
The summit stretched as far as her eyes could see with black and red rock. There was no vegetation in sight.
“Amazing. It seems like another planet, an alien desert or something.”
“And look some more.” Libby took the plane in a wide turn and pointed to the slope leading to the blue Pacific. “More pineapple fields where the lava fields stop. Don’t they look as though they’re tumbling down the slope into the ocean?”
On the way back to Oahu, she turned the controls over to Dan and sat back to enjoy the ride.
“So why did you sign up? For the military, I mean.” She was mindlessly counting the dozens of battleships and aircraft carriers that moved between the islands of Oahu and Maui, leaving foaming white trails in their wake.
Dan laughed. “It’s stupid, really. My friend showed up at football practice one day furious, waving a copy of Reader’s Digest. The article said that our generation—I think they called us war babies—were incapable of taking on responsibility. Said we were aimless, soft, and immature. So my buddy and I signed up the next day, to the horror of our parents—and our coach.”
“You played football?”
“UCLA first-string.”
Libby tapped her finger on her chin. “Hmm. So if you’re a college player, why did you have so much trouble controlling the football that day on the beach? You couldn’t have been doing it on purpose, could you?”
Dan wrinkled his brow. “What? You think so?”
Libby crossed her arms over her chest and made no attempt to hide her grin. “So you joined up to try to prove something to a writer who had never heard of you, had no idea of your resolve, and most likely wrote those words to sell more copies? That’s about the silliest thing I’ve ever heard.”
“Oh, look who’s talking, Miss ‘No-Man-Can-Out-fly-Me.’ Like you’ve never felt you had something to prove?”
Dan dropped his altitude as the island of Oahu neared, then circled John Rodgers Airport in preparation for landing. Libby watched as his hands skillfully maneuvered the plane’s controls. His eyes were quick as they took in everything around him. And although he was undoubtedly handsome and kind, nothing attracted her more than to see the passion in his gaze as he flew.
He set the plane down without a bump, taxied, parked, then turned to her. “Okay, enough with the flying and spinning a yarn. Are you ready for some sand and sun?”
“Please, Dan, you’re wearing me out. It’s not like we have to do it all in one day.”
Dan released the controls and grasped Libby’s fingers, lifting them to his lips. “Yes, but I don’t want to waste any time that we can have together. You never know what the future holds.”
A few minutes later, after they’d refueled and prepared the plane for its next pilot, Dan took Libby’s hand, and they started back to the office.
“I have one more thing to show you before we head to the beach,” Libby announced, pulling him toward the largest hangar—a big Quonset held up with metal struts. “This, my friend, is one of the biggest radio antennas in the world. If you put your ear in the right spot, you can hear one of the Honolulu stations.”
They approached the big hut, and each placed an ear against the warm metal—their faces only inches apart. Libby felt Dan’s warm breath on her cheek as he sang along to Glenn Miller.
“You and I know … why love will grow from the first hello until the last good-bye. So to sweet romance, there is just one answer, you and I.” Dan straightened and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close. “Libby, I believe that’s our song.”
Libby and Rose sat in the convertible outside the Schofield Barracks, waiting for Dan. The whitewashed stone barracks supposedly were the largest in the country, set behind massive gates with a beautiful lawn stretching out in front. Soldiers hustled to and fro in jeeps, on foot, or on bicycles. The summer sun cast a warm glow over the busy scene.
Yet it was quiet compared to the rest of Honolulu. The traffic in the expanding city was frightful, and automobile accidents were more the norm than the exception. The roads bustled with soldiers, delivery drivers, and official cars that ferried around the officers and their families. Sometimes Libby watched them wistfully, wondering what it would be like to live their lives. Women in dresses, white gloves, and hats. Children in pressed suits or frocks, heading to the Royal Hawaiian Club for four o’clock tea.
While she watched, an attractive young woman emerged from the barracks. Two small blond boys trailed behind her, their arms stretched out from their sides, swaying from side to side as if mimicking the planes that filled the sky. Maybe someday she’d have little boys like those….
“Hello, are you listening?” Rose tapped her shoulder. “I’ve asked you a question twice, but your mind is someplace else.”
Libby turned to her friend, taking in the wide-brimmed hat that Rose had recently received by mail order from Sears and Roebuck. “Hmm?”
“I was just asking about Mr. Atkins downstairs. Has he done anything outrageous lately?”
Libby gave a low sigh. “Unfortunately, yes. A few days ago he called the police concerning my maid. It appears that she was drying the sheets on the balcony, and Mr. Atkins thought they were signals to Japanese spies on the island.”
“Isn’t your maid Chinese?”
“Yeah, but the old man won’t believe me.”
Rose laughed, and Libby sat up straighter, recognizing Dan’s familiar stride as he hurried across the lawn toward them. It was a half-jog, half-march, and reminded Libby of a junior high boy just let loose after a long day at school.
“Not fair.” Rose threw her hands up with a pout. “Here I am the chauffer again for you two lovebirds, while Jack has to spend all week cooped up in that little ship.”
“I know, poor Jack.” Libby blew a kiss to Dan as he climbed in next to her. “You should have dated a flier.”
“Tell me about it. Jack’s sick and tired of having to stay below deck in the engine rooms, working on maintenance all day. He’s almost aching for some action to get them out to sea. Except for the fact that he’d miss me like crazy.” She glanced over to Libby as she started the engine. “Where to?”
“How about Ewa Beach?” Libby pulled out her trusty scarf and tied it over her hair. “We haven’t been there in a while.”
“Oh, shucks,” Dan moaned. “And I didn’t bring my football. Want to turn around so I can get it?”
“No, thanks.” Libby wagged a finger at him. “I might kill you next time.”
They pulled onto the main highway leaving Honolulu. Rose drove with one hand on the steering wheel and the other on her hat to keep it from blowing away.
“Dan.” The wind whipped her words. “What happened to your friend, the one who was at the beach with you? I haven’t seen him in a while.”
“Zeke Olson? Ah, he’s homesick like crazy. Spends most of the time in the barracks writing letters to his wife back home.”
“He’s married?” Rose sighed. “It must be so hard to be apart. I’d love to be married. In fact, Jack and I are talking about it.”
“Are you serious? You just met the guy.” Libby didn’t mean for her voice to sound so harsh.
“When you find the one, it doesn’t have to take a long time to know it,” Rose declared. “Jack is sweet and fun to be around, and he adores me.”
Libby didn’t know what to say. She waited for Dan to respond, but he must have been waiting for her, because neither said a word.
Libby liked being with Dan. In fact, she was quite sure she loved him. But marriage? She wasn’t ready to talk about that.
Apparently, neither was he.