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Category: March, 1944

March 31, 1944 (Friday)

March 31, 2019 1271941 2 Comments

“Cactus,” Carney Field, Guadalcanal Threw Hartman out of the Utility Unit as he seem to be working more for Russell…

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Posted in: March, 1944

March 30, 1944 (Thursday)

March 30, 2019 1271941

“Cactus,” Carney Field, Guadalcanal Took B-24 to Munda and return. Ostensibly a test top. Everything okay. Our DC-3 is still…

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Posted in: March, 1944

March 29, 1944 (Wednesday)

March 29, 2019 1271941

“Cactus,” Carney Field, Guadalcanal Rain.

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March 28, 1944 (Tuesday)

March 28, 2019 1271941

“Cactus,” Carney Field, Guadalcanal Brought “24” back home after some question as to the carburetor catching fire. These new “Ceco”…

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March 27, 1944 (Monday)

March 27, 2019 1271941

“Cactus,” Carney Field, Guadalcanal Found three letters on my desk today from Beverly (Powell) Pope. For a married woman she…

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March 26, 1944 (Sunday)

March 26, 2019 1271941

“Cactus,” Carney Field, Guadalcanal Went over to Carney this afternoon to see how the “24” was progressing. Looks as though…

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March 25, 1944 (Saturday)

March 25, 2019 1271941

Nouméa, New Caledonia Hay fever going to town on on me. Camp jammed with visitors, who seem to think that…

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March 24, 1944 (Friday)

March 24, 2019 1271941

Nouméa, New Caledonia Johnson, the 27th CB painter, who did Halsey’s work, arrive to decorate the Admiral’s quarters this morning.

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March 23, 1944 (Thursday)

March 23, 2019 1271941

Nouméa, New Caledonia Halsey and staff returned to Nouméa this morning. Admiral’s son, Jack, arrived in the afternoon from DD…

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March 22, 1944 (Wednesday)

March 22, 2019 1271941

“Cactus,” Carney Field, Guadalcanal Have taken quite a ribbing about this “wingtip” business. Flew the PB4Y over to the Army…

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Posted in: March, 1944

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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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