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Category: December, 1943

December 31, 1943 (Friday)

December 31, 2018 1271941

“Cactus,” Carney Field, Guadalcanal Standing by for hop to Nouméa. Am damn glad to see the last of this year,…

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Posted in: December, 1943

December 30, 1943 (Thursday)

December 30, 2018 1271941

“Cactus,” Carney Field, Guadalcanal Hop to Samoa was altered. I go to Nouméa. 

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December 29, 1943 (Wednesday)

December 29, 2018 1271941

“Cactus,” Carney Field, Guadalcanal Admiral goes to Nouméa tomorrow with King in the “24.” I go to Samoa in the…

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December 28, 1943 (Tuesday)

December 28, 2018 1271941

“Cactus,” Carney Field, Guadalcanal Took Lt.Cmdr. Bates to the Russells in the Duck. 

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December 27, 1943 (Monday)

December 27, 2018 1271941

“Cactus,” Carney Field, Guadalcanal Standing operations officer watches. 

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December 26, 1943 (Sunday)

December 26, 2018 1271941

“Cactus,” Carney Field, Guadalcanal Went out with Schaner in the J2F (Duck) this afternoon and gave myself a couple of…

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December 25, 1943 (Saturday)

December 25, 2018 1271941

“Cactus,” Carney Field, Guadalcanal Excellent Xmas dinner (relatively speaking).

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December 23-24 (one day)

December 23, 2018 1271941

“Cactus,” Carney Field, Guadalcanal Easy hop. Living in ComAirSoPac camp, near old Hotel De Gink. Good mess and quarters. Admiral’s…

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December 22, 1943 (Wednesday)

December 22, 2018 1271941

Canton Took off at dawn for Barbers Point for final fueling. Arrived Canton before nightfall. Brushless shave.

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December 21, 1943 (Tuesday)

December 21, 2018 1271941

Oahu Arrived Hickam before noon. Moved on to Kaneohe. Into Honolulu over the Pali. Got Patu’s car, swim suits at…

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Posted in: December, 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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