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The Diary of a Naval Aviator
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August 7, 1943 (Saturday)

August 7, 2018 1271941

“Cactus,” Carney Field, Guadalcanal Lt. Graham (Class 133-C) of VJ-9, exec to Lt.Cmdr. Edwards (“The Bastard”) was down here in…

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Posted in: August, 1943

August 6, 1943 (Friday)

August 6, 2018 1271941

“Cactus,” Carney Field, Guadalcanal Munda Field was announced as taken this morning. 1,671 Japs killed, 28 captured. (1500 August 5)…

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Posted in: August, 1943

August 5, 1943 (Thursday)

August 5, 2018 1271941

“Cactus,” Carney Field, Guadalcanal Light overcast most of the day. Italy seems to have changed her mind about making peace.…

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Posted in: August, 1943

August 4, 1943 (Wednesday)

August 4, 2018 1271941

“Cactus,” Carney Field, Guadalcanal The food here is terrible. Some of the meals are so bad that we just go…

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Posted in: August, 1943

August 3, 1943 (Tuesday)

August 3, 2018 1271941

“Cactus,” Carney Field, Guadalcanal News from the States (Life & Time) is certainly disgusting nowadays. Strikes, race riots in Los…

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Posted in: August, 1943

August 2, 1943 (Monday)

August 2, 2018 1271941

“Cactus,” Carney Field, Guadalcanal Spent the afternoon at the beach. Am damn near as dark as some of the natives.

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Posted in: August, 1943

August 1, 1943 (Sunday)

August 1, 2018 1271941

“Cactus,” Carney Field, Guadalcanal Went to Mass this morning. Weather has improved, although there is still much mud about. Much…

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Posted in: August, 1943

July 31, 1943 (Saturday)

July 31, 2018 1271941

“Cactus,” Carney Field, Guadalcanal Another noisy dry drunken brawl last night, which left me with a little over four hours…

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Posted in: July, 1943

July 30, 1943 (Friday)

July 30, 2018 1271941

“Cactus,” Carney Field, Guadalcanal Heard this morning that Italy has authorized Pope Pius to sue for peace on their behalf.…

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Posted in: July, 1943

July 29, 1943 (Thursday)

July 29, 2018 1271941

“Cactus,” Carney Field, Guadalcanal Rained all last night and all day today. Mud. Mud. Mud. Heard this morning that Marshall…

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Posted in: July, 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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