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The Diary of a Naval Aviator
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Category: May, 1942

May 11, 1942 (Monday)

May 11, 2017 1271941

Pearl Harbor Drunks wandering all over the BOQ last night – the aftermath of that big station officers dance yesterday…

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Posted in: May, 1942

May 10, 1942 (Sunday)

May 10, 2017 1271941

Pearl Harbor The boys in the next room conducted a good loud party last night from 8 until 1 a.m.…

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May 9, 1942 (Saturday)

May 9, 2017 1271941

Pearl Harbor Started off with a riotous morning. Everything possible went wrong. I missed connections with four pilots on the…

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May 8, 1942 (Friday)

May 8, 2017 1271941

Pearl Harbor Had the duty today. Was one of two assistants, so it was comparatively simple. Took a little time…

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May 7, 1942 (Thursday)

May 7, 2017 1271941

Pearl Harbor Another 12 1/2 hour hop to the south today. I did the navigating. Saw nothing. The Japs will…

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May 6, 1942 (Wednesday)

May 6, 2017 1271941

Pearl Harbor Gradually getting squared away at the squadron. My navigation is damn rusty, but coming along well. Named 35…

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May 5, 1942 (Tuesday)

May 5, 2017 1271941

Pearl Harbor My day off – one in three (plus one day of squadron work and one day of flying…

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May 4, 1942 (Monday)

May 4, 2017 1271941

Pearl Harbor Another 12-hour hop today. Got in two hours ago and my ears are still ringing. Despite the fact…

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May 3, 1942 (Sunday)

May 3, 2017 1271941

Pearl Harbor Didn’t even realize it was Sunday until almost noon. There was absolutely nothing to make it different from…

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May 2, 1942 (Saturday)

May 2, 2017 1271941

Pearl Harbor Had the day off. Spent part of it down at the pay office hey office trying to get…

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Posted in: May, 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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