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.

His senior portrait, from the family’s copy of his high school yearbook. The page →

May 1945

May 11 1945

Went to GQ at 2230 this morning. Bogie was shot down by CAP. Later on Bunker Hill was seriously hit about 23:00, burned badly. She was hit by two suicides. I went swimming to help pick up survivors. We have about 100 survivors aboard. The smile the survivors gave us will be something to always remember.

Listen0:21

USS Bunker Hill (CV-17)

Historical context

EDITORIAL NOTE

The burning of the Bunker Hill

USS Bunker Hill (CV/CVA/CVS-17, AVT-9) was one of 24 Essex-class aircraft carriers built during World War II for the United States Navy. Commissioned in May 1943, Bunker Hill was the first U.S. Navy ship to have been named for the 1775 Battle of Bunker Hill, and received the Presidential Unit Citation in recognition of her distinguished service throughout the Pacific Theater. From late 1943 through 1945, Bunker Hill took part in major operations including the Gilbert and Marshall Islands campaigns, the raid on Truk, the capture of the Mariana and Palau Islands, the Battle of the Philippine Sea, the air raids on Formosa and Japanese home islands, and the battles of Iwo Jima and Okinawa during the final drive toward the Japanese mainland.

From Wikipedia, “USS Bunker Hill (CV-17)”, text under CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the full article ↗

* 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 →