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The Diary of a Naval Aviator
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Author: 1271941

April 23, 1942 (Thursday)

April 23, 2017 1271941

Pacific Ocean A PBY-5 passed close over us this morning. Sinking into the now familiar vicious cycle of eat and…

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Posted in: April, 1942

April 22, 1942 (Wednesday)

April 22, 2017 1271941

Pacific Ocean Blimp left with nightfall last night. This ship is clean and well run.

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Posted in: April, 1942

April 21, 1942 (Tuesday)

April 21, 2017 1271941

Pacific Ocean Pulled out about ten this morning. The bay was filled with grey ships, and the old Matson docks…

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Posted in: April, 1942

April 20, 1942 (Monday)

April 20, 2017 1271941

San Francisco, California Am leaving my first diary (kept from November 11, 1941 to April 19, 1942 — the beginning…

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Posted in: April, 1942

April 19, 1942 (Sunday)

April 19, 2017 1271941

Santa Clara Communion at early mass – my first in five months. Big turkey dinner was thoroughly demolished by all…

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Posted in: April, 1942

April 18, 1942 (Saturday)

April 18, 2017 1271941

Santa Clara Played records and got squared away. Ed, Gretchen and Caesar showed up in the afternoon. Took Caesar down…

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Posted in: April, 1942

April 17, 1942 (Friday)

April 17, 2017 1271941

Santa Clara Spent the day at Grams. Ran across Natalie Knowle in Palo Alto. Took Janet Crosse out to Dinah’s…

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Posted in: April, 1942

April 16, 1942 (Thursday)

April 16, 2017 1271941

Santa Clara Said goodbye to Buff, Mom, and Dad and headed north. Noticed “Okie” cars struggling through Tejon Pass. Wonder…

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Posted in: April, 1942

April 15, 1942 (Wednesday)

April 15, 2017 1271941

Sierra Madre Spent the day with Mom. Hamburgers again for lunch at Eaton’s. Dinner with Buff, Mia, and Oats. Earrings…

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Posted in: April, 1942

April 14, 1942 (Tuesday)

April 14, 2017 1271941

West Los Angeles Drove over to MGM at Culver City to watch Lloyd working on set of “Apache Trail” –…

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Posted in: April, 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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