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The Diary of a Naval Aviator
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Author: 1271941

July 18, 1943 (Sunday)

July 18, 2018 1271941

“Cactus,” Carney Field, Guadalcanal Spent afternoon on the beach. Beautiful weather, good surf, and no garbage. “Charlie” was over three…

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Posted in: July, 1943

July 17, 1943 (Saturday)

July 17, 2018 1271941

“Cactus,” Carney Field, Guadalcanal Charlie was over for about two hours last night, dropping bombs mostly around our field. The…

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Posted in: July, 1943

July 16, 1943 (Friday)

July 16, 2018 1271941

“Cactus,” Carney Field, Guadalcanal Patrolled 700 miles north. Good weather. Negative results. Sighted one school of about 15 sperm whales,…

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Posted in: July, 1943

July 15, 1943 (Thursday)

July 15, 2018 1271941

“Cactus,” Carney Field, Guadalcanal Six months ago today we left Barbers Point, Oahu. No relief in sight. Went down to…

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Posted in: July, 1943

July 14, 1943 (Wednesday)

July 14, 2018 1271941

“Cactus,” Carney Field, Guadalcanal Clouded over most of the day so I didn’t go down to the beach. Read the…

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Posted in: July, 1943

July 13, 1943 (Tuesday)

July 13, 2018 1271941

“Cactus,” Carney Field, Guadalcanal “Charlie” was shot down last night by a P-38 before he got past the Russells. Patrolled…

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Posted in: July, 1943

July 12, 1943 (Monday)

July 12, 2018 1271941

“Cactus,” Carney Field, Guadalcanal Spent the afternoon on the beach at Koli Point. Beautiful weather. Pete Kooy, Gris Forbes, Bob…

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Posted in: July, 1943

July 11, 1943 (Sunday)

July 11, 2018 1271941

“Cactus,” Carney Field, Guadalcanal Went to Mass this morning. Six cruisers plus supporting forces went up to bombard Munda tonight…

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Posted in: July, 1943

July 10, 1943 (Saturday)

July 10, 2018 1271941

“Cactus,” Carney Field, Guadalcanal Called out on a night strike group last night to try and stop the Tokyo Express…

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Posted in: July, 1943

July 9, 1943 (Friday)

July 9, 2018 1271941 1 Comment

“Cactus,” Carney Field, Guadalcanal Our troops are doing pretty well on New Georgia, while the air battles continue daily. Our…

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Posted in: July, 1943

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A secret for 75 years

Kailua resident James Claire Nolan kept a secret most of his life. A Navy pilot during World War II, he kept a detailed diary and drew pictures throughout the conflict, a practice frowned upon by security-minded authorities. When he died in the early 1990s, he entrusted the pages to his friend and military historian Burl Burlingame of the Honolulu Star-Bulletin. Burlingame is now Historian at the Pearl Harbor Aviation Museum.

Trained as a navy bomber pilot, Nolan was rushed to the Dutch East Indies as war broke out and returned to Pearl Harbor, where he was pressed into service flying PBY “Catalina” flying boats on patrol.

Later, Nolan served with distinction at the battle of Midway, on Guadalcanal and became the personal pilot for Vice Adm. Aubrey Fitch. Nolan said his proudest moment came when in the summer of ’43 he discovered the slowly sinking bow of USS Helena, sheared off by a Japanese torpedo several days before and covered with desperate survivors. He stuck with the ship until help arrived.

After the war, Nolan joined the US Air Force and continued to fly. In civilian life, he was a historian at Hickam Air Force Base.

We are publishing these diary entries exactly 75 years to the day after these pages were written. Except for very minor spelling and grammatical updates, they are as written — including observations that may seem not “politically correct” these days. It is a look into the mindset of a young man fighting a war across a vast ocean.

This site will remain active for five years. It is sponsored by historical-interpretation company Pacific Monograph.

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