War Diaries (August 7) (nonfiction)
War Diary quotations for August 7
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Diaries
Duane Nelson: August 7, 1944
Duane “Swede” Nelson served in the Marines from 1943 to February 1946, and he participated in some of the biggest and bloodiest battles of the Pacific theater. He kept three small diaries documenting his experiences.
We fired our carbines and spent the day at the range. I fired Raven’s pistol and didn’t do that bad. Bob Hope’s USO Show performed on a stage on our island and entertained all of us Marines. Other performers included Jerry Colonna, Patty Thomas and Francis Langford. They performed for 2 hours. They flew in by Piper Cub from Binika to the Russell Islands. Old Hope cracked some pretty dammed good jokes. Patty Thomas was built like a streamline train ready anytime to make fast speeds out of. When it was over Palmer and I dashed off to the plank and went along the beach until we got to where the planes were. We waited for them to drive and take off. We succeeded in getting their autographs: Hope, Langford and Thomas. I believe we were the only ones in the 1st Division that were lucky enough to get them.
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External links
- Excerpts from the Diaries of Renia Spiegel @ Smithsonian Magazine
- Excerpts from Nelson’s WWII diaries @ spokesman.com