I passed a typing test and became a member of the staff of Rear Adm. Newton.

Another nice thing was that I would type out letters home for the admiral's stewards. They would then feed me the same food the admiral ate.

Always avoid picking up hitch-hikers who are wearing a mask.

The good news was that Enterprise and the newly arrived Yorktown had attacked the Marshall and Gilbert islands. Those attacks had a great effect on morale.

The Japanese invaded Tulagi, in the Solomon Islands, on May 4.

My observations of Japanese naval fighting men, their abilities and equipment led me to believe that they gave a better account of themselves than we did.

A chief petty officer taught me shorthand, which got me promoted to yeoman first class.