Johnston, Island

Jackson and I let Lathrop and Pojonus, respectively, take the planes (51-P-10 and 51-P-5 (mine)) out on short patrol (200 miles) today. The station raised hell about it — as I expected them to. They remind me of a bunch of old ladies. A couple of oil patches seen today has practically given them nervous prostration — even sent a dispatch to Pearl Harbor about it. An oil patch, in itself, unaccompanied by other evidence, means absolutely nothing — but one can’t tell these fatheads anything.

We thought we’d be going back to Pearl today, but now it has been postponed till next Monday — damn!

All the planes were out today, Jackson and I rode out to the reef and did some diving for shells and coral. Exciting, but not very productive without underwater goggles.