Description:

USS PENNSYLVANIA SOLDIER'S PHOTO AND DOCUMENT GROUPING
A fine collection of photographs, documents, etc. from a sailor who served aboard the Pearl Harbor veteran battleship USS PENNSYLVANIA. This excellent grouping contains the rare bound 'War History of the USS PENNSYLVANIA', approx. 100pp. 4to., Metropolitan Press, Seattle, 1946. The heavily-illustrated book, bearing within the name of Seaman Astor Blair, includes a chart showing all of the PENNSYLVANIA's travels during the war, lists her officers, and offers a recap of action at Pearl Harbor, her participation in the North Pacific Campaign, at the Gilberts and Marshalls, in the Marianas and the Carolines, the Philippines, and at Okinawa where she was torpedoed. The account ends as the vessel is towed to Bikini to be used in atomic bomb tests. The text ends with a complete chronology, a list of those killed in action, including 24 during the Pearl harbor attack, and photographs of the entire crew. Also present are two 8 x 10 in. photos of the vessel, one apparently while pumping out water at Pearl Harbor, and four other group photos of crewmen, two listing the names of those in the image. There are also various documents included, namely: a ship's Christmas, 1944 menu; a ship's Labor Day, Sep. 3, 1945 menu; a July 4, 1945 menu; a ca. Feb. 22, 1945 2pp. shipboard newsletter 'Straight Dope' discussing the ship's prior port calls and leave in manila; a partial page from the shipboard newsletter 'Keystone Press' describing combat on Saipan; May 25, 1945 Orders of the Day; and two notices to Seaman Blair re: a unit commendation and leave. Finally, there are letters from Blair to his wife, some of which are pre-printed form letters with a few spaces left to fill in critical information. The form letters are largely innocuous and non-specific, for obvious reasons. There are also six lengthy handwritten letter penned between Sep. 4 and Sep. 13, 1945, and an Oct. 24, 1945 letter. Blair mentions his ship is under tow to Guam and refuses to disclose the number of dead - only that he is continuing to fight fires and water ingress. In his next letter, he mentions: '...20 were cut off in their compartment by water and fire and drowned the[y] dived over the side got fire out. Buried at Okinawa...' Also: '...the two screws on the starboard side was gone, a big hole in side...got one man out...they have the decks propped up with big timber & steel on every deck back aft...the whole ass end is out...from the third deck down. We have one screw now...' Much more. Finally, Blair's wife maintained a scrapbook, also included, 15 x 11.5 in., photographs and news clippings concerning the PENNSYLVANIA, the Japanese surrender, and 40+ larger printed photographs of naval warships, PT boats, etc., all ca. 1952. A wonderful, historic grouping in generally fine condition.

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April 5, 2022 10:00 AM EDT
Elkton, MD, US

Alexander Historical Auctions LLC

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