Processed by
Ashley Lichtenbarger
May 2009
Manuscript and Visual Collections Department
William Henry Smith Memorial Library
Indiana Historical Society
450 West Ohio Street
Indianapolis, IN 46202-3269
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VOLUME OF |
8 manuscript folders and 1 photograph folder |
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COLLECTION |
1937-1947 |
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PROVENANCE: |
Gift from Shirley Howell |
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RESTRICTIONS: |
None |
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COPYRIGHT: |
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REPRODUCTION |
Permission to reproduce or publish material in this collection must be obtained from the Indiana Historical Society. |
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ALTERNATE |
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RELATED |
The USS Indianapolis Collection (M0645), Colleen Mondor-USS Indianapolis Correspondence, 1995-96 (M0782), and Fatal Voyage: The Sinking of the USS Indianapolis by Dan Kurzman (D774. I5 K87 1990) |
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ACCESSION |
2009.0093 |
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NOTES: |
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James Clark Davis grew up in Texas. He lived with his father, Thomas, his mother, Ava, and his sister JoAnn. Based on the sentiment in the letters they had a close family. Thomas was a former military man. James began boot camp in 1942. From there he went on to Radioman School in 1943 where he remained until he was called to join the crew on the USS Indianapolis in November of 1943.
The heavy cruiser USS Indianapolis, CA 35, was commissioned in November 1932. It saw its first combat of World War II in the South Pacific Theater in February 1942. The Indianapolis became the flag ship for the 5th Fleet and it saw extensive combat duty in the South Pacific, receiving ten battle stars for action in numerous engagements including the assault on the Marianas ("The Great Marianas Turkey Shoot"), June-August 1944, the covering of the Iwo Jima landings, February-March 1945, and the pre-invasion bombardment of Okinawa, March 1945.
On 16 July 1945 the ship departed from Mare Island Navy Yard in California on a secret cargo mission to Tinian Island in the Marianas. The cargo mission entailed carrying several parts for the assemblage of the atomic bomb, including uranium. After successfully delivering its cargo on 26 July, the ship was torpedoed and sunk by a Japanese submarine between Guam and Leyte four days later. Because of the secret nature of its mission, there was some confusion after the ship's sinking and it was four days before all the survivors were rescued. Of the 1,196 men on board only 316 survived, many perishing because of the elements while waiting to be rescued.
James C. Davis was on the ship when it was torpedoed. He was never found. On August 12 his parents received the telegram stating that he went missing on 30 July 1945.
Sources:
Collection guide for the USS Indianapolis Collection (M0645).
Information gathered from the letters in this collection.
This collection contains 8 manuscript folders and one photograph. The letters were mostly written to James’ mother but there were also some to Thomas, his father, and JoAnn, his sister. Within each folder the letters are arranged in chronological order.
The first five folders of this collection comprise letters written to Ava M. Davis, James’ mother, from her son as well as some of his friends and their family. These include letters from James while he was at boot camp, radioman school, and on the USS Indianapolis. Also included in this section are letters from some of James’ military buddies. The later letters are from some of James’ buddies as well as family members writing to the family to express their sympathy for the loss.
The next two folders contain letters written to JoAnn and Thomas from James and Robert Findley (James’ close friend). There are also a couple of others who wrote to Thomas during this time.
The last manuscript folder contains some documents that were received with some of the letters as well as the death/memorial card with a picture of James and a poem written by Robert Findley after James’ death.
The photograph of Robert Findley was sent to JoAnn in a letter in 1944.
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CONTENTS |
CONTAINER |
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Letters to Ava Davis, 1942 |
Folder 1 |
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Letters to Ava Davis, 1943 |
Folder 2 |
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Letters to Ava Davis, 1944 |
Folder 3 |
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Letters to Ava Davis, 1945 |
Folder 4 |
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Letters to Ava Davis, 1946-47 |
Folder 5 |
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Correspondence, n.d. and 1943 |
Folder 6 |
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Correspondence, 1944-46 |
Folder 7 |
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Miscellaneous Documents |
Folder 8 |
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Photograph of Robert Findley |
Photographs: |
For additional information on this collection, including a list of subject headings that may lead you to related materials:
1. Go to the Indiana Historical Society's online catalog: http://opac.indianahistory.org/
2. Click on the "Basic Search" icon.
3. Select "Call Number" from the "Search In:" box.
4. Search for the collection by its basic call number (in this case, SC 2858).
5. When you find the collection, go to the "Full Record" screen for a list of headings that can be searched for related materials.