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The Diary of a Naval Aviator
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Author: 1271941

December 30, 1942 (Wednesday)

December 30, 2017 1271941

Barbers Point NAS Back to Barbers Point this morning in the busload of orientals. Still enjoyed making this trip. No…

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Posted in: December, 1942

December 29, 1942 (Tuesday)

December 29, 2017 1271941

Barbers Point NAS Still grounded (both planes and I). Into town this afternoon to the Halekulani. Took Group-Captain Grice, RAF,…

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Posted in: December, 1942

December 28, 1942 (Monday)

December 28, 2017 1271941

Barbers Point NAS Planes still grounded. Back improving with the aid of Doc Stevens’ elementary chiropractics.

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Posted in: December, 1942

December 27, 1942 (Sunday)

December 27, 2017 1271941

Barbers Point NAS Nothing new. No hops. Still grounded because of my back. Sure one hell of a good bunch…

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Posted in: December, 1942

December 26, 1942 (Saturday)

December 26, 2017 1271941

Barbers Point NAS Decided to return to Barbers Point this morning. My back is still pretty bad. Couldn’t even dance…

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Posted in: December, 1942

December 25, 1942 (Friday)

December 25, 2017 1271941

Halekulani Hotel Xmas Day dawned on a few hangovers, which soon cleared in the warm, sunny air. Lay on the…

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Posted in: December, 1942

December 24, 1942 (Thursday)

December 24, 2017 1271941 2 Comments

Halekulani Hotel Met two Royal Air Force officers this morning through “Kingie” Kimball. They left London only a few weeks…

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Posted in: December, 1942

December 23, 1942 (Wednesday)

December 23, 2017 1271941

Halekulani Hotel Spent the day at the Halekulani. And completely out of touch with the squadron, but as I have…

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Posted in: December, 1942

December 22, 1942 (Tuesday)

December 22, 2017 1271941

Kaneohe NAS Back to Kaneohe at noon. Nothing new. Bought some liquor for Xmas. Port, sherry, vermouth, scotch, bourbon, and…

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Posted in: December, 1942

December 21, 1942 (Monday)

December 21, 2017 1271941

Kaneohe NAS My back is damn near killing me. Recovered completely from my jackknifing two weeks ago, at least so…

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Posted in: December, 1942

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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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