Auburn Press. Iwo Jima's First American Newspaper

[At sea]: U.S.S. Auburn, 1945. Very good.. Six mimeographed issues, each 8 or 10pp., one loos sheets, stapled, plus a one-page postwar review. Mostly minor edge wear or light chipping, original soft horizontal folds, moderate even toning. A group of uncommon World War II-era newspapers printed by the American Navy aboard the U.S.S. Auburn while stationed just off Iwo Jima and then Nagasaki, Japan. The paper was published by and for the personnel of the Auburn under the supervision of the ship's Communications Office. The circulation is stated at 700, which would have served the full complement of the Auburn's crew, which numbered 686 servicemen. The U.S.S. Auburn was an amphibious force command ship that had only launched in October 1943, was commissioned in July 1944, and arrived at Pearl Harbor towards the end of September 1944. By early February 1945, she reached Tinian in the Marianas, where she began final drills for the assault on Iwo Jima. The Auburn was present off Iwo Jima when the United States first invaded the island on February 19. During the operation, the Auburn coordinated and directed the movements of several hundred ships attached to Amphibious Group 2. The Auburn remained off Iwo Jima until March 27, then headed to Pearl Harbor for rest and repairs. After spending some time in Hawaii and the Philippines throughout the summer of 1945, the Auburn was once again stationed off the coast of Japan by late September.

The first four issues present here were produced during the Auburn's time off Iwo Jima. These issues were published on March 4, 16, 17, and 19, 1945. The final two issues here were printed during the Auburn's service near Nagasaki in September; these two issues were published September 15 and 21, respectively. The Auburn Press included war news from various theaters, including Burma, China, the Philippines, Okinawa, and so forth. There are also editorials from various state-side newspapers such as the New York Herald Tribune, Washington Post, Baltimore Sun, as well as sports news, occasional poetry, reports on ship-board activities, and more. Some titles of articles provide a flavor of the content: "Jap Suicides Becoming Popular," "U.S. Enters Coblenz," "Big Offensive Begins," "30th Straight Air Raid on Reich," and "Iwo Secured." The byline for the March 4 issue states that the Auburn Press was "Iwo Jima's First American Newspaper." The March 16 issue states that "This one-time enemy bastion officially became American Territory on the 14th of March with the formal unfurling of the stars and stripes and the delivery of a proclamation issued by fleet admiral Chester W. Nimitz." Issues also usually contained a humorous item or comic panel, as well as a full-page crossword puzzle on the verso of the final sheet. The paper received Camp Newspaper Service material and was a member of the Ship's Editorial Association (SEA).

A rare American wartime shipboard newspaper. OCLC reports just a single holding at the Wisconsin Veterans Museum Research Center. (Inventory #: 5575)