Original Item: Only One Lot Available. This is a substantial Pearl Harbor survivor autograph grouping consisting of postwar commemorative photographs and printed memorial pieces bearing handwritten signatures and inscriptions associated with veterans who were present during the December 7, 1941 attack. The group includes signatures attributed to men connected with USS Arizona, USS Nevada, USS Utah, USS California, USS Tennessee, the U.S. Coast Guard, and other Pearl Harbor assignments.

Several of the signatures can be matched with considerable confidence to documented Pearl Harbor survivors, including Dorwin F. Lamkin, Cecil L. Calavan, Donald G. Stratton, John D. Anderson, Carl M. Carson, John H. McGoran, Jerold W. Barnes, and John Reed. Other names appear to include Van Harrison, John D. Holcomb, Harley Johnson, and Benjamin F. Marshall, together with at least one additional signature that remains difficult to decipher. The identities given below are based upon the inscriptions themselves and comparison with available historical records.

The printed photographs and memorial sheets themselves appear to be later commemorative material. Their primary historical interest is in the original handwritten signatures, inscriptions, and their association with the surviving veterans of Pearl Harbor.

The group is in good condition. The signatures are generally clear and legible, although the ink used on portions of the USS Arizona memorial sheet has lost contrast against the paper and can be difficult to read from certain angles. Several signatures on the multi-signed Pearl Harbor attack photograph are also challenging to decipher because of the individual handwriting. Please consult the photographs for the exact condition of each piece.

The group contains the following signatures and inscriptions. Where an identification cannot presently be independently confirmed, it is deliberately presented as an attribution rather than a definitive identification:

• Dorwin F. Lamkin. The National Museum of the Pacific War preserves oral histories with Dorwin F. Lamkin confirming that he served aboard USS Nevada (BB-36) and was aboard during the Pearl Harbor attack. Lamkin had been transferred to the ship's hospital division and later trained as a Navy hospital corpsman and laboratory technician.
• Cecil L. Calavan. The National Park Service identifies S2c Cecil Calavan as a survivor of USS Utah. Following his death, Calavan was interred at the USS Utah Memorial in 2014, an honor reserved for surviving members of the ship's crew.
• Jerold W. Barnes. The National Museum of the Pacific War preserves an oral history in which Barnes recalled joining the U.S. Coast Guard in 1940 and being present at Pearl Harbor when the attack began.
• Harley Johnson. We have not located sufficiently conclusive documentation to assign this individual to a particular ship, unit, or station. The name is therefore retained as an attributed reading only.
• John D. Holcomb. We have not located sufficiently conclusive documentation to assign this individual to a particular ship, unit, or station. The name is therefore retained as an attributed reading only.
• John Reed. A documented Pearl Harbor survivor named John Reed was serving at the Navy's target-repair facility near the entrance to Pearl Harbor when the attack began. He later served aboard USS Long and USS Essex.
• Benjamin F. Marshall, although the middle initial is somewhat difficult to interpret. We have not located sufficiently conclusive documentation to assign this individual to a particular ship, unit, or station. The name is therefore retained as an attributed reading only.
• One additional red signature appears toward the bottom of the multi-signed sheet. The handwriting is presently too indistinct to transcribe with confidence.

The larger Remember Pearl Harbor / Remember the USS Arizona commemorative sheet carries another particularly interesting group of inscriptions:

• Donald G. Stratton / Survivor. Donald Glenn Stratton was a documented Seaman First Class aboard USS Arizona (BB-39). Stratton survived the destruction of the battleship despite suffering serious burns. He and several other men trapped high in Arizona's superstructure escaped by working their way along a line thrown from the nearby repair ship USS Vestal. After recovering and initially receiving a medical discharge, Stratton later reenlisted and served aboard USS Stack in the Pacific.
• John D. Anderson BM2/c 4th Div. USS Arizona Dec 7 1941. The handwriting of the middle initial is somewhat faint, but the identification as John D. Anderson is strongly supported by the National Park Service survivor roster, which lists John D. Anderson as Boatswain's Mate Second Class aboard Arizona. Anderson survived the attack, while his twin brother Delbert, also assigned to Arizona, was killed. John Anderson's ashes were eventually interred within the wreck in 2016.
• Van Harrison, CPO. Supply Chief. USS TENNESSEE. The inscription itself associates Harrison with USS Tennessee (BB-43) and identifies him as a Chief Petty Officer and Supply Chief. We have not independently established enough service-record information to expand upon that attribution, so the description is retained exactly as supported by the writing on the piece. USS Tennessee was present on Battleship Row and was struck by two bombs during the attack.
• Carl M. Carson. U.S.S. Arizona (BB39). 12/7/41. This reading is well supported by the official National Park Service survivor list, which records Carl M. Carson, Seaman First Class, among the survivors of USS Arizona.
• John H. McGoran. USS California BB-44. 12-07-41. This identification can be independently supported by McGoran's own published account in the U.S. Naval Institute's Proceedings. McGoran recalled that on December 7, 1941 he was serving as a signalman on Vice Admiral William S. Pye's Battle Force staff aboard USS California (BB-44).

Pearl Harbor

The attack on Pearl Harbor began at approximately 7:55 a.m. on Sunday, December 7, 1941, when Japanese carrier aircraft struck American naval and military installations across Oahu. Two attack waves targeted Battleship Row, the Navy Yard, and surrounding airfields. By the time the attack ended shortly before 10:00 a.m., twenty-one U.S. vessels had been sunk or damaged and 2,403 Americans had been killed.

The ships represented within this autograph group collectively illustrate how widely the attack affected the Pacific Fleet.

USS Nevada (BB-36), the ship associated with Dorwin Lamkin, achieved one of the most memorable episodes of the morning. After suffering a torpedo hit, Nevada managed to get underway at approximately 8:40 a.m. and began steaming down the channel. Japanese aircraft concentrated on the moving battleship, apparently recognizing the possibility of sinking her in the channel. Heavily damaged, Nevada was ultimately grounded near Hospital Point so that she would not obstruct the harbor entrance. Lamkin's recorded oral histories place him aboard during these events.

USS Utah (AG-16), associated here with Cecil Calavan, had originally been constructed as a Florida-class battleship but was later demilitarized and converted for use as a target and antiaircraft training vessel. She was moored on the western side of Ford Island when Japanese torpedo aircraft attacked. Utah capsized rapidly, and 58 members of her crew were lost. The National Park Service records 461 survivors.

The USS Arizona signatures form the heart of the collection. At approximately 8:06 a.m., a Japanese bomb penetrated Arizona and ignited the ship's forward magazines. The resulting explosion devastated the battleship and killed 1,177 sailors and Marines, by far the greatest loss of life aboard any single American vessel during the attack. The National Park Service survivor roster includes both John D. Anderson and Carl M. Carson, while Naval History and Heritage Command documentation extensively records Donald Stratton's survival and later service.

USS California (BB-44) was struck by torpedoes and bombs and eventually settled into the harbor mud. She was later raised, rebuilt, and returned to combat service. John H. McGoran's published recollections place him aboard California as a signalman on Vice Admiral Pye's staff on the morning of the attack.

USS Tennessee (BB-43), identified in Van Harrison's inscription, was moored inboard of USS West Virginia and survived despite receiving two bomb hits. The ship's surviving action records describe fires, heavy smoke, nearby ships under attack, and the rapidly deteriorating conditions on Battleship Row.

Jerold Barnes and John Reed add further perspective. Barnes was serving in the U.S. Coast Guard and later gave an oral history describing his presence at Pearl Harbor, while Reed was assigned to a target-repair facility near the harbor entrance.

The names, service assignments, and historical associations presented in this description are based on the handwritten inscriptions visible on the items, comparison with available historical records, and contemporary research. While every effort has been made to identify the signers as accurately as possible, some signatures are difficult to read and certain attributions remain tentative.