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[1997.277.024.OLE8] Document - 'Diary of Lieutenant Harry W. Harrison, Jr.' |
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Diary of Lieutenant Harry W. Harrison, Jr.
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| Accession Number |
1997.277.024.OLE8 |
| Accession Date |
21/10/1997 |
| Date Created |
7/6/1943-3/2/1944 |
| Object Desciption |
A major base for Japanese forces in the Central Pacific, and one that was heavily defended, was Truk Atoll, which American carriers first raided in February 1944. As he experienced on board the light carrier Independence (CVL 22) off the Gilbert Islands the previous November, Lieutenent Commander Harry W. Harrison had the ship that was his floating home torpedoed by the enemy. His diary entries from those fateful days record air-to-air combat in which he scored his first kill, what it felt like to be torpedoed, and the aftermath that including burying shipmates at sea. Such was Intrepid's bad luck when it came to suffering battle damage that she received the wartime nickname the "Evil 'I." |
| Notes |
Lieutenant Harry W. "Stinky" Harrison, Jr., assumed command of Fighting Squadron (VF) 6 on
11 October 1943 and relinquished command in August 1944. He was a career fighter pilot, having flown
Grumman biplanes as a cadet in the fleet during the late 1930s and served as Executive Office of VF-5. |
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