USS Indianapolis 9x14 Photo Signed by (10) Survivors with Gerald Poor, Verlin Fortin, Lyle Umenhoffer, Sam Lopez, Adolfo Celaya, John Heller (PSA LOA)

Photo measures 9" x 14" in size and has been hand-signed in black felt-tip pen by (10) USS Indianapolis Survivors including Gerald Poor, Verlin Fortin, Lyle Umenhoffer, Sam Lopez, Adolfo Celaya, John Heller, James Jarvis, John Woolston, Robert Bunai, and Harlan Twible.

USS Indianapolis was a Portland-class heavy cruiser of the United States Navy, named for the city of Indianapolis, Indiana. The vessel served as the flagship for the commander of Scouting Force 1 for eight pre-war years, then as flagship for Admiral Raymond Spruance, in 1943 and 1944, while he commanded the Fifth Fleet in battles across the Central Pacific in World War II.

In 1945, the sinking of Indianapolis led to the greatest single loss of life at sea, from a single ship, in the history of the US Navy. The ship had just finished a high-speed trip to United States Army Air Force Base at Tinian, to deliver parts of the first atomic bomb ever used in combat (the United States' Little Boy atomic bomb), and was on training duty. At 0015 on 30 July 1945 the ship was torpedoed by the Imperial Japanese Navy submarine I-58. The ship, on her way to the Philippines, sank in 12 minutes. Of 1,195 crewmen aboard, approximately 300 went down with the ship. The remaining 900 faced exposure, dehydration, saltwater poisoning, and shark attacks while floating with few lifeboats and almost no food or water. The Navy learned of the sinking when survivors were spotted four days later by the crew of a PV-1 Ventura on routine patrol. Only 316 survived.

The lot / autograph(s) includes an official PSA/DNA hologram and matching LOA for authenticity purposes.

Authentication: PSA LOA

Due to the uniqueness of each item, please refer to the photos provided in this auction. We offer high resolution images of each item rather than a written description of condition.

This item is being shipped from the Pristine Auction warehouse.