"This D*mn Navy" ...

[Mark Allen M]

Amazing it's it? ... great reading

[airnutz]

Pretty slick holding off on the torpedoes trying to draw out heavies...sucker punch coming...

[Richard W.]

Catching up with the last month now.

The 14 Feb. "St. Valentines Day Massacre" made the hair stand up on my neck!

[airnutz]

I'm dyin' here...8 days since the last entry...argghh!!!
"First thing you learn is you always gotta wait, never early..he's always late, I'm waitin' for my man..." Velvet Underground

[Mark Sampson]

While we wait, I'll ask a question that only makes sense on this forum. How would our hero's B-24 (PB4Y-1)have been painted? As a child I built a plastic model of a PB4Y that was white below and blue above... was that standard for Navy patrol planes, or Atlantic-only?
Trivial, perhaps, but knowing would help my understanding of a not-well-known part of the history.

[StangStung]

While we wait, I'll ask a question that only makes sense on this forum. How would our hero's B-24 (PB4Y-1)have been painted? As a child I built a plastic model of a PB4Y that was white below and blue above... was that standard for Navy patrol planes, or Atlantic-only?
Trivial, perhaps, but knowing would help my understanding of a not-well-known part of the history.

Pretty similar to this, I'd reckon:

[StangStung]

While we're at it, check this out from a little YouTube knowledge quest:

https://youtu.be/s92Erf4KQIk

[airnutz]

Cool video, thanks. I've forgotten what squadron is Nolan in, is he in VB-101? I spent awhile a coupla days ago going back thru the diary and I seem to have missed it. I also checked the VP Navy site, http://www.vpnavy.com , they are pretty good at mid WW2 to post war but not so much the early squadrons.

[wendovertom]

What great reading - really gives a reality check on daily life for me.

This is the kind of journal I wish I could find for my grandfathers unit (190th Light Pontoon Co. - combat engineers in the CBI).

Tom P.

[airnutz]

Several times Nolan he mentioned various outfits when speaking of others. I think I recall their support unit is PATSU 1-2. VP-51 ring any bells? It'll later become VB-101. How about VP-54? Found this link googling PATSU 1-2 of this VP history page, follows most of Nolans activities including St. Valentine's Day Massacre
http://www.geocities.ws/Pentagon/Quarte ... /info.html

A memorial page for those who paid the ultimate price. Bacon and Cooper who were lost, as noted by Nolan on February 14/'43, are there near the top...
http://www.geocities.ws/Pentagon/Quarte ... rial1.html

Index page and a few photos links as well...
http://www.geocities.ws/Pentagon/Quarte ... index.html

Another PATSU hit led me back to an archived publication article I missed on the VP Navy site I mentioned earlier...
http://www.vpnavy.com/patsu_history.html

Relatively recently he mentioned Patrol Wing 2, PatWing 2 and remember his first unit in the Dutch East Indies was PatWing 10 which he got word after rotating back to Hawaii was eventually wiped out of aircraft, IIRC.

I'm kinda busy with a bunch of stuff right now but I wanted to pass on these bits if there's any interest and to hopefully save some redundant searching.

[airnutz]

Yeah!! It's back, the drought is over, and that answers that question..was VP-51 and as of 14 March '43, is now VP-101.

[Chris Brame]

Good to get caught up again!

...ripping up the runway and knows until she came to a halt.

That transcription, however... I'd gladly proofread it for the webmaster, if I could see the original journal pages.

[Jungmann]

Is the Diary finished? Does Nolan leave the Pacific? Too bad if the ride is over--I found it an enjoyable read, and many thanks to those who posted it. An intimate look at one Navy pilot's war.

[Mark Sampson]

It's quite possible that Lt. Nolan didn't write an entry every day, and that there might be long gaps between. And the person posting the entries may well be otherwise occupied. A marvelous document whether or not it's finished now.

[Chris Brame]

Is the Diary finished? Does Nolan leave the Pacific? Too bad if the ride is over--I found it an enjoyable read, and many thanks to those who posted it. An intimate look at one Navy pilot's war.

Looks like it's got a ways to go yet:

he kept a detailed diary and drew pictures throughout the conflict