The diary consists of one pre-printed, five-year diary and seven sheets of paper added to the volume. It dates from 17 December 1940 to 16 December 1941. The first entry, 17 December 1940, appears at the end of the volume in accordance with the calendar in the printed diary. Despite the volume being printed for five years of use, Saffa recorded one day on each page from 1940 to 1941. Joseph T. Saffa began his diary when he left Union Station in St. Louis for his first assignment in the U.S. Navy. He and his brother, Chout, boarded the USS Lexington near Long Beach, California, on January 10, 1941, and arrived in Hawaii on January 21st. Joseph wrote a note in front of his diary explaining that he purchased his diary aboard the Lexington on January 19th. He wrote another note in front of the diary when he completed it on December 16, 1941: “It sure is hard to believe we are at war with Japan…My only hope that I will soon be able to put in my diary that Peace has come.” Most notably, Saffa wrote pages about the attack on Pearl Harbor on Sunday, December 7, 1941, and the days following, which he placed in his diary (f.2). On leave, he stayed at the YMCA on Saturday night, attended mass and communion, and had breakfast before he heard bombs shortly before 8 A.M. A cab drove Saffa to Pearl Harbor in time for him to see the first wave of the attack. He tried to return to the Chew amidst the machine gun fire from the planes, “I would run ten feet and fall to the ground.” The Chew sailed out of the harbor before Saffa reached it, so he reported to the Schley, another destroyer. He and some other crew members reported to the Chew later that evening. He explained how they cleaned up their ship and how the Chew, Allen, Schley, and Ward patrolled for submarines near the port entrance days after the attack. Saffa described the waves of planes, the damage to ships and the airfields, and mentioned the loss of two Chew crew members who had reported to the battleship USS Pennsylvania. Saffa wrote that he slept many nights on deck after the attack. In the year before the Pearl Harbor attack, Saffa recorded daily details about duties aboard ship, radio school, and studying for advancement exams. The Chew participated in training and, unfortunately, Saffa often got seasick in the early voyages at sea. On April 2nd, he noted disgruntlement among the men when all naval reservists were ordered to active duty. While on maneuvers on May 11th, Saffa saw planes diving at ships and mentioned tension among the sailors about going to war. The tensions increased with news of the sinking of the destroyer USS Reuben James by a German U-boat during escort service in the Atlantic was the first loss for the Navy (31 Oct 1941). The Chew often docked at Pearl Harbor near the USS Baltimore, which was used for storage in 1941. Saffa noted that the Chew had five sets of brothers on board (23 Oct 1941). On August 3rd, Saffa toured the British ship HMS Warspite, which was at Pearl Harbor for repairs after being bombed in the Battle of Crete, and met many of its crew. Saffa kept a log of the money that he sent home at the back of the diary. He also listed sailors’ terms and sights he saw in Hawaii. The crew had regular leave time away from the ship. Saffa wrote about leisure activities such as playing baseball, swimming, bowling, and going to movies. He also mentioned good friend Harry Schlessinger, also from St. Louis. While on leave during a stop at Molokai, Saffa met a priest who gave him and his friends a tour of the island. He described the churches, the Hawaiians he met and their homes, and the leper colony that was on the small island (f.2).