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Category: August, 1943

August 10, 1943 (Tuesday)

August 10, 2018 1271941

“Cactus,” Carney Field, Guadalcanal Patrolled 750 miles towards Ponape. Negative. Weather lousy.

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Posted in: August, 1943

August 9, 1943 (Monday)

August 9, 2018 1271941

“Cactus,” Carney Field, Guadalcanal Had two fresh eggs for breakfast yesterday morning — the first in many months. Weather overcast.…

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August 8, 1943 (Sunday)

August 8, 2018 1271941

“Cactus,” Carney Field, Guadalcanal Went to Mass this morning at a new chapel over in the 703rd Bombardment Squadron area…

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August 7, 1943 (Saturday)

August 7, 2018 1271941

“Cactus,” Carney Field, Guadalcanal Lt. Graham (Class 133-C) of VJ-9, exec to Lt.Cmdr. Edwards (“The Bastard”) was down here in…

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August 6, 1943 (Friday)

August 6, 2018 1271941

“Cactus,” Carney Field, Guadalcanal Munda Field was announced as taken this morning. 1,671 Japs killed, 28 captured. (1500 August 5)…

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August 5, 1943 (Thursday)

August 5, 2018 1271941

“Cactus,” Carney Field, Guadalcanal Light overcast most of the day. Italy seems to have changed her mind about making peace.…

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August 4, 1943 (Wednesday)

August 4, 2018 1271941

“Cactus,” Carney Field, Guadalcanal The food here is terrible. Some of the meals are so bad that we just go…

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August 3, 1943 (Tuesday)

August 3, 2018 1271941

“Cactus,” Carney Field, Guadalcanal News from the States (Life & Time) is certainly disgusting nowadays. Strikes, race riots in Los…

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August 2, 1943 (Monday)

August 2, 2018 1271941

“Cactus,” Carney Field, Guadalcanal Spent the afternoon at the beach. Am damn near as dark as some of the natives.

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August 1, 1943 (Sunday)

August 1, 2018 1271941

“Cactus,” Carney Field, Guadalcanal Went to Mass this morning. Weather has improved, although there is still much mud about. Much…

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Posted in: August, 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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