It is assumed that Cornelia’s logbook was written by her own hand. And it is assumed it is written at the time of the event being logged. Within the construct of the history of the event, it is assumed to be accurate and carries the greatest weight of proof of fact. It states that Interstate Cadet 37345 was the aircraft Cornelia was flying the day Pearl Harbor was attacked. But unusual circumstances and human action can sometimes meddle in the validity of records, rendering assumption incorrect.
Commonly overlooked records that can shed a light on this small facet of the Pearl Harbor attack are the records of airworthiness and ownership kept by the Civil Aeronautics Administration (then CAA, now FAA). These records can have large gaps between the events that require paperwork to be
filed with the CAA/FAA but can still provide good insight to conclusions sought within those gaps. Those records are easily acquired for most aircraft that were registered with the FAA/CAA. But the ongoing, yet incomplete, transition from paper records to computer records can make some records very difficult to review. And unfortunately, our story of two Interstate Cadets, is caste between the stories of several Interstate Cadets. And while the records for some of our cast are easily found, others have not emerged from the fog of time gone by.