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The Diary of a Naval Aviator
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July 12, 1942 (Sunday)

July 12, 2017 1271941

Pearl Harbor Went into town about 10 a.m. on a very crowded ferry. The North Carolina, which made a very…

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Posted in: July, 1942

July 11, 1942 (Saturday)

July 11, 2017 1271941

Pearl Harbor Patrol southwest – nothing (12.5 hours).

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Posted in: July, 1942

July 10, 1942 (Friday)

July 10, 2017 1271941

Pearl Harbor Worked around squadron.

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Posted in: July, 1942

July 9, 1942 (Thursday)

July 9, 2017 1271941

Pearl Harbor Worked around squadron.

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Posted in: July, 1942

July 8, 1942 (Wednesday)

July 8, 2017 1271941

Pearl Harbor My day to patrol, but only one plane went out today, instead of the usual four. We are…

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Posted in: July, 1942

July 7, 1942 (Tuesday)

July 7, 2017 1271941 2 Comments

Pearl Harbor Around the squadron most of the day. Changed model set up to a U.S. destroyer torpedo attack on…

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Posted in: July, 1942

July 6, 1942 (Monday)

July 6, 2017 1271941

Pearl Harbor Day off. Went into town with Long and Gimber and checked into the Royal Hawaiian. Had a date…

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Posted in: July, 1942

July 5, 1942 (Sunday)

July 5, 2017 1271941

Pearl Harbor Patrol south today – nothing. Nearly had an accident on the way out with an inexperienced NAP in…

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Posted in: July, 1942

July 4, 1942, (Saturday)

July 4, 2017 1271941

Pearl Harbor Around the squadron most of the day. Arrange my model task force (used for identification practice) into a…

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Posted in: July, 1942

July 3, 1942 (Friday)

July 3, 2017 1271941

Pearl Harbor Day off. After weeks of no mail I finally blossomed out with six letters this morning – mostly…

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Posted in: July, 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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