SOLD: 1939 R173 USS Indianapolis PSA 7 + book signed by 9 survivors
 

For sale is a 1939 Gum, Inc. World in Arms USS Indianapolis card in a PSA 7. There are only 17 examples graded by PSA, and this is one of four that've achieved the highest grade. This card was issued 6 years before the ship was sunk by Japanese torpedoes after delivering parts for the Hiroshima bomb. It's arguably the hardest one in the set to find.

The ship's story was immortalized on film in Jaws by Robert Shaw's Capt. Quint. Those who went into the water dealt with exposure, fuel in the water, and eventually sharks. Over 3 1/2 days, 880 men died -- 317 survived.

Also included is the book created by the survivors, detailing their group and individual stories. It was written to help pay for a permanent memorial in Indianapolis. It was signed in 2006, the year it came out, at a reunion of the survivors.

.
Thanks for posting. Richard Thelen was a friend who passed away just afew years ago. He was still actively going into schools to share with youths the story of the Indianapolis and his own personal experiences up until his death.

Wow, really appreciate you mentioning that, Vincent. The things those guys shared with me as a journalist at the time were beyond comprehension. I passed some of them on to the buyer to keep their story alive.

The significance of that event …
 

.
Was obviously not lost on Dick’s (Richard) children. Each and every of Dick’s kids hung a large 24x36-inch print prominently in their respective living rooms.


.