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The Diary of a Naval Aviator
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Category: May, 1943

May 31, 1943 (Monday)

May 31, 2018 1271941

“Button,” Espiritu Santo Left Cactus this morning at 0915 and returned to Button in four hours. Yesterday’s hop was 9…

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Posted in: May, 1943

May 30, 1943 (Sunday)

May 30, 2018 1271941

“Cactus,” Carney Field, Guadalcanal Suffered the greatest disappointment of my life today. My crew and myself were heartbroken over the…

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Posted in: May, 1943

May 29, 1943 (Saturday)

May 29, 2018 1271941

“Button,” Espiritu Santo An attempt is being made to hush up the circumstances of Jap Admiral Yamamoto’s death, which some…

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Posted in: May, 1943

May 28, 1943 (Friday)

May 28, 2018 1271941

“Button,” Espiritu Santo Nothing doing all day. Caught up on my correspondence.  Got a letter from home quoting a recently…

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Posted in: May, 1943

May 27, 1943 (Thursday)

May 27, 2018 1271941

“Button,” Espiritu Santo Did my laundry and lay around the rest of the day.  VP-12 with Tylutki, Gillette, and Pack,…

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Posted in: May, 1943

May 26, 1943 (Wednesday)

May 26, 2018 1271941

“Button,” Espiritu Santo Patrolled 700 miles (16° to 22°T) toward Nauru and Ocean islands. Saw nothing. The chap (a VP-12…

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Posted in: May, 1943

May 25, 1943 (Tuesday)

May 25, 2018 1271941

“Button,” Espiritu Santo Lay around and read Harpers and a condensation of Lin Yutang’s  “Wisdom of China and India,” an…

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Posted in: May, 1943

May 24, 1943 (Monday)

May 24, 2018 1271941

“Button,” Espiritu Santo Some bogies over last night. They dropped bombs all around the Curtiss but didn’t do any damage.…

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Posted in: May, 1943

May 23, 1943 (Sunday)

May 23, 2018 1271941

“Button,” Espiritu Santo Slept through hell and high water last night (drunks). Washed the last two weeks worth of clothes…

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Posted in: May, 1943

May 22, 1943 (Saturday)

May 22, 2018 1271941

“Button,” Espiritu Santo No sign of Charlie’s friends despite clear weather and a full moon last night. I guess those…

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Posted in: May, 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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