Nice weather. Fueled from tankers today. Making raid on Pagan Island. Probably will hit there tomorrow. Sure will be good to see the folks. Miss them an awful lot.
September 1942 — June 1945
The diary
389 entries in the order Elmer lived them. The first eleven are dated months apart and cover nearly two years of training and island duty; from the day he came aboard The Sullivans he wrote every day. Chapter headings, eleven in all, mark the way, and a map alongside keeps track of where he was as you read or listen. Search for a person, place, ship, or phrase, or simply begin at the beginning.
Every entry can also be listened to. The readings are computer-generated, about 69 minutes in all. The voice is not Elmer’s.
June 1944
Nice weather. We were sent in alone to Pagan to pick up a pilot who was shot down. Got so close we thought they would throw rocks at us. Can’t figure out why they didn’t fire. Now heading for Eniwetok. Hope we have mail.
July 1944
Cloudy. Sent out once more to pick up pilot off Pagan Island. Capt really went in close. No shots fired at us. Kingfisher had allready picked up pilot.
* Dates read as Elmer wrote them. An asterisk marks a date that is approximate, or that the diary records differently from the day it actually was; hover or focus it for the correction. Underlined terms link to the glossary. Chapter headings, notes marked “From the records”, and the map’s account of where he was are editorial.
After the last entry
What the papers say next
The diary ends on June 18, 1945, with the ship under orders home. The Navy’s paperwork and the family’s papers carry the story from there.
The Sullivans reached San Francisco on July 9, 1945. On July 15 he was advanced to signalman first class, and on July 23 he married Dorothy, the girl he wrote to, in Olympia. He left the ship on October 10, and on October 26, back in Shelton, he registered with the local draft board, “unemployed – just discharged,” and signed the card. The records →
