Original Item: Only One Available. This is an exceptional USS Indianapolis survivor signed memorial piece, bearing the signatures of approximately 74 men who survived one of the most catastrophic naval losses in U.S. history. USS Indianapolis (CA-35) is forever linked to both the final days of WWII and the atomic mission to Tinian, but the ship’s story is ultimately defined by the ordeal of the men who survived her sinking on July 30, 1945. Of nearly 1,200 Sailors and Marines aboard, only 316 were ultimately rescued. This framed USS Indianapolis Survivors Memorial Organization poster brings together the signatures of roughly 74 of those survivors, many of whom also added their wartime ranks, creating a remarkable collective memorial to the men who endured several days in the Philippine Sea awaiting rescue. Material signed by such a large number of Indianapolis survivors is extremely difficult to encounter and has enormous appeal to advanced U.S. Navy and WWII collectors.

The poster measures approximately 23¼ x 34½” in its frame. The signatures are arranged throughout the poster and overlap or cluster closely enough in some areas that an exact count is difficult. We estimate that approximately 74 survivors signed the piece. Many included their ranks or other brief service information with their signatures.

That concentration of survivor signatures is what makes this piece so compelling. Rather than representing the story of a single crewman, it preserves the names of a substantial group of men who shared the same extraordinary event and later came together through the USS Indianapolis Survivors Memorial Organization to ensure that the ship, those who were lost, and those who survived were remembered.

USS Indianapolis was a Portland-class heavy cruiser named for Indianapolis, Indiana. Launched in 1931 and commissioned the following year, she became one of the best known American cruisers of the prewar and WWII eras. For approximately eight years she served as flagship of the U.S. Navy’s Scouting Force, and during the Pacific War she frequently served as flagship for senior commanders.

During 1943 and 1944, Indianapolis served as flagship for Admiral Raymond A. Spruance while he commanded the Fifth Fleet during major operations across the Central Pacific. The cruiser participated in numerous campaigns as American forces advanced toward Japan and ultimately earned 10 battle stars for WWII service.

Her final mission became one of the most secretive naval assignments of the war.

In July 1945, Indianapolis departed San Francisco carrying critical components connected with the first atomic bomb to be used in combat. Racing across the Pacific, the cruiser delivered uranium and other components for the “Little Boy” atomic bomb to Tinian, the island from which the weapon would later be loaded aboard the B-29 Enola Gay for the August 6 attack on Hiroshima.

The mission was conducted under extraordinary secrecy. Many members of the crew had no idea what they were transporting or how important the cargo would become to the closing days of WWII.

After successfully completing the delivery, Indianapolis continued to Guam and was subsequently ordered toward Leyte in the Philippines for training and further duty.

Shortly after midnight on July 30, 1945, while sailing alone from Guam toward Leyte, Indianapolis encountered the Imperial Japanese Navy submarine I-58, commanded by Mochitsura Hashimoto.

At approximately 00:15, two Japanese Type 95 torpedoes struck the cruiser on the starboard side, one forward and another amidships. The explosions caused catastrophic damage. The bow was heavily damaged, flooding spread rapidly, and the ship developed a severe list.

Within approximately 12 minutes, USS Indianapolis rolled over and disappeared beneath the Philippine Sea.

The speed of the sinking gave the crew very little time to abandon ship. Approximately 300 men are generally believed to have gone down with the cruiser itself. Hundreds more entered the water, many with little more than a life jacket or whatever flotation material they could reach.

What followed transformed the loss of Indianapolis from a wartime sinking into one of the most harrowing survival stories in American military history.

The survivors remained in the open sea for approximately four days before large scale rescue operations began. They endured severe dehydration, exposure, exhaustion, injuries from the sinking, saltwater poisoning, drowning, and shark attacks. Groups of men became separated as currents and waves dispersed the survivors across miles of ocean.

No immediate rescue force arrived because the ship's loss had not initially been recognized. The survivors were finally discovered after they were spotted from the air by a patrol aircraft. A PBY Catalina subsequently arrived at the scene and, in a famous act of wartime rescue, landed on the open sea and began taking survivors aboard while additional aircraft and ships were directed to the area.

U.S. Navy historical research records 316 eventual survivors.

The disaster became the greatest loss of life at sea from the sinking of a single ship in the history of the United States Navy.

For the survivors, however, rescue did not end the story. Many carried the physical and psychological effects of the disaster for the rest of their lives. Over the decades they formed close bonds, attended reunions, spoke publicly about their experiences, and worked to preserve the memory of the hundreds of shipmates who never returned.

The USS Indianapolis Survivors Memorial Organization became an important part of that effort. Survivor gatherings allowed the remaining crewmen and their families to reconnect while promoting public awareness of the ship’s history. Signed memorial pieces associated with these reunions became physical records of a survivor community that inevitably grew smaller with each passing year.

That is what gives this poster unusual historical weight. Approximately 74 of the 316 men who survived are represented here, based upon our best count. Each signature represents an individual who was aboard Indianapolis during her final voyage and lived through the ordeal that followed her sinking.

The poster is framed and remains in excellent display condition. The frame itself is in great condition and retains its hanging wire, allowing the piece to be displayed immediately.

The story of Indianapolis continued to receive national attention long after WWII. On August 19, 2017, an expedition funded by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen located the wreck of CA-35 on the floor of the Pacific at a depth of more than 18,000 feet, approximately 5,500 meters. The discovery finally provided the precise resting place of the cruiser more than seven decades after she disappeared.

Congress later authorized the award of a Congressional Gold Medal to the crew of USS Indianapolis, recognizing their bravery, perseverance, and service to the United States. The honor underscored how deeply the story of the ship and her crew had become embedded in American naval history.

For the collector, USS Indianapolis material occupies a particularly important place within WWII U.S. Navy collecting because of the extraordinary convergence of events associated with the ship: major Central Pacific combat service, Admiral Spruance and the Fifth Fleet, the secret atomic bomb mission to Tinian, the final Japanese submarine attack, the rapid sinking, and the almost unimaginable ordeal endured by the survivors.

This poster brings that history down to the individual level. Instead of merely commemorating the ship, it carries the actual signatures of approximately 74 of the men who survived her loss. As the survivor generation has now nearly disappeared, a single framed piece containing this many original survivor signatures has become an especially significant memorial artifact. It would be an outstanding centerpiece for an advanced USS Indianapolis, U.S. Navy, Pacific War, atomic bomb mission, WWII survivor, or naval history collection.