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The Diary of a Naval Aviator
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Category: September, 1943

September 25-28, 1943

September 25, 2018 1271941

Yucca Loma With mom. Stayed at Lloyd’s the night of the 28th, after dinner at Del Dave’s. Saw Pat Smart,…

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Posted in: September, 1943

September 22, 1943 (Wednesday)

September 22, 2018 1271941

Pasadena Lucky I could be with Mom and Dad at this time. They are crushed. 

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September 21, 1943 (Tuesday)

September 21, 2018 1271941

Los Angeles Went to L.A. on the Lark this night. 

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September 19, 1943 (Sunday)

September 19, 2018 1271941

Alameda NAS Received orders and went to Grams.

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September 18, 1943 (Saturday)

September 18, 2018 1271941

Alameda NAS Orders came this morning. Sea duty but no dope as to squadron number or location. The old bunches…

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September 15, 1943 (Wednesday)

September 15, 2018 1271941

Alameda NAS Was sitting in the sun on the BOQ veranda this a.m. when someone called me to the phone.…

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September 14, 1943 (Tuesday)

September 14, 2018 1271941 1 Comment

Alameda NAS Saw the ComFair West Coast “board” consisting of two officers, a doctor, and Moffett. Asked for duty in…

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September 10 to September 13, 1943

September 10, 2018 1271941

Enroute to Alameda NAS aboard USS Yorktown Nothing to do but eat, sleep throw the ball and gamble (bridge and…

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September 9, 1943 (Thursday)

September 9, 2018 1271941

Pearl Harbor Boarded USS Yorktown this morning. Quartered in the ships aviators’ rooms, while much be-medalled army aviators got the…

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September 8, 1943 (Wednesday)

September 8, 2018 1271941

Oahu Stayed overnight at Chris Holmes in preparation for leaving tomorrow morning. 

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Posted in: September, 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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