“Button,” Espiritu Santo

When I got in yesterday I found the squadron had the whole dope on my activities. It seems that several members of other squadrons saw me on the beach with D. several times. I got my full share of ribbing.

Was surprised to notice how poorly some of the fellows looked. Their absence made it more apparent. Many have a distinct yellow tinge from the atabrine.

Heywood made Lt.Cmdr. while I was away. A nice kid, but totally incompetent to lead a squadron. What’s wrong with this goddamn Navy promotion system? Schoenweiss is another incompetent that got promoted and his squadron is a virtual laughingstock (VP-54). These fellows have neither the flying time, the brains, nor the knowledge of planes that any of us have. They’re not leaders of men. But, they are Academy men, so that settles it.