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The Diary of a Naval Aviator
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Category: June, 1942

June 20, 1942 (Saturday)

June 20, 2017 1271941

Pearl Harbor Squadron Duty Officer today. What a workout. The roof on our hanger is being renewed (the original was…

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Posted in: June, 1942

June 19, 1942 (Friday)

June 19, 2017 1271941

Pearl Harbor Was awakened this morning by the firing of a heavy coast defense gun up in one of the…

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June 18, 1942 (Thursday)

June 18, 2017 1271941

Pearl Harbor Liberty today! On my way into town I stopped off the drydock No. 2 — the Minneapolis —…

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June 17, 1942 (Wednesday)

June 17, 2017 1271941

Pearl Harbor Patrol westerly — nothing. Burnes, Glanz’ second pilot, told me of the gross bit of bungling on the…

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June 16, 1942 (Tuesday)

June 16, 2017 1271941

Pearl Harbor One of yesterday’s hops was with Scott Glanz – a PPC check. He’s one damn fine pilot –…

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June 15, 1942 (Monday)

June 15, 2017 1271941

Pearl Harbor Two 2-hour hops today. Practice landings and torpedo attacks.

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June 14, 1942 (Sunday)

June 14, 2017 1271941

Pearl Harbor Two 2-hour hops today — practiced landings, and torpedo attacks on cruisers and destroyers. Also took a ride…

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June 13, 1942 (Saturday)

June 13, 2017 1271941

Pearl Harbor Took a plane out this morning for a test hop. Saw the Saratoga coming in, along with two…

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June 12, 1942 (Friday)

June 12, 2017 1271941

Pearl Harbor Patrol westerly — nothing, except a few incoming units of the Midway task force — both units almost…

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June 11, 1942 (Thursday)

June 11, 2017 1271941

Pearl Harbor More damned stories brought back from Midway — some of them are hard to give credence to —…

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Posted in: June, 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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