I am of the understanding that diaries were illegal on American ships during the war for fear of their falling into enemy hands, which makes this discovery all the more important.
MARCH 3, 1945: "Received ammunition off Iwo Jima from ammo ship. They finally changed the battle flag on Mount Suribachi for a big one--looked like they wouldn't get her up for awhile but they did." "The famous flag-raising as witnessed from the USS Idaho.
MARCH 25, 1945: "Arrived off Okinawa during the night-- all quiet."
APRIL 12, 1945: "We got it today. Terrific suicide attack by God knows how many Jap planes-- 55 were shot down in our immediate area. We got 5 in 4 minutes & received a suicide plane in our port blister. ...when that guy hit us he really raised hell--I've got port stack, & pieces of the plane covered the entire platform. I pulled 5 pieces of Jap pilot off my clothes--the largest about as big as my hand--the explosion sure scattered him."
JULY 31, 1945: )Last entry) "Out for practice firing-- can you imagine that?"
Mighty Interesting Diary. --GreGen
The USS North Carolina (BB-55) My all-time favorite warship. As an elementary school student in North Carolina, I donated nickels and dimes to save this ship back in the early sixties.
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