Ensign Stephen Francis Kelley, Jr.
World War II Diary
A blog of the diary with resources and annotations.
Welcome!
I’ve created this blog to share Ensign Kelley’s war diary. It is still a work in progress, so you will notice some changes over time.
Please comment, share, add notes, etc. I would like to continue adding as much as we can about his WWII service.
Latest Posts
September 20 1944
20 September 1944USS Sitkoh Bay (CVE 86) In Port at Manus Back again at Manus and I wish I were somewhere else. Don’t particularly care much for this island. Somehow it sets me on edge. I don’t feel set. I want to move. It gets…
Keep readingSeptember 18, 1944
18 September 1944USS Sitkoh Bay (CVE 86) Off Palau The boys are beginning to call this ship the Sitkoh Maru as she seems to be operating better for the Japanese. This AM the Air Officer got all us pilots on deck and showed us graphs…
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September 17, 1944
Kelley watches Hellcat and Avenger launches, while he anticipates his turn to go to the Wasp. 17 September 1944USS Sitkoh Bay (CVE 86) Off Palau Woke up this morning with quite a big head from last night’s party. When we left Pearl the five of…
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September 13, 1944
A visit ashore. 13 September 1944USS Sitkoh Bay (CVE 86) In Port at Manus I went ashore today but I wasn’t impressed much by Manus. The mud was ankle deep and made walking quite sloppy. The boys and myself got a kick out of wondering…
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September 10, 1944
After 11 days at sea, the Sitkoh Bay arrives in Manus. 10 September 1944USS Sitkoh Bay (CVE 86) In Port at Manus Manus, is quite a strange looking island. We came in this morning and the weather was quite bad. It’s been raining all day…
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September 5, 1944
Kelley reflects on ship life and the sea. USS Sitkoh Bay (CVE 86) at Sea It’s bad enough aboard a ship when you have something to do but aboard this ship time hangs heavy. Besides our watches there’s nothing to do. The weather’s been good…
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Ensign Kelley's WWII Service 