This series contains black & white and color photographic prints, including some oversize and panoramic prints. The photographs are arranged into sub-series by general subject. Within each sub-series, the photographs are in alphabetical order according to the subjects of the individual photograph. Some of the photographs are copies of prints from institutions such as the National Archives or the U.S. Naval Institute.

Box 4 includes a binder of photographs taken by a professional photographer at the 2002 USS Houston Survivors Association Reunion. If reproduced in print or on a website, or otherwise publicly displayed, these photographs must include the following credit line: Copyright Arturo Sanchez, Frank White Photography.

This series includes a variety of negatives and slides, as well as digital copies of all negatives. The negatives are in a variety of formats and sizes. Most of the negatives in this series were donated by Otto Schwarz and the USS Houston Survivors Association, and many of them are copy negatives of other images.

Box 4 contains CD-ROMs of digital images that were created by Special Collections staff to provide better access to the negatives. Patrons visiting the reading room in person may view the CD-ROMs on a laptop or at a computer workstation in our reading room. A printed list of the contents of the negatives is also available. The negatives were scanned at their original size in order to serve as a positive image contact sheet for easier browsing. Because the digital images on the CD-ROM are so small, patrons wishing to order reproductions of are recommended to have their print, slide, or photograph made directly from the original negative. Unfortunately, we cannot make these images available in digital format to people who are not visiting the reading room in person.

Correspondence is divided into four sub-series by format: Postcards from POW Camp, Telegrams, Letters, and Envelopes. The Postcards from POW Camp series includes postcards written by Houston crew members while they were being held as prisoners-of-war. These postcards were highly censored by the Japanese military. The Postcards from POW Camp, Telegrams, and Envelopes sub-series are each arranged by sender. If there are multiple items from the same sender, they are further arranged by receiver. If there are multiple items from the same sender to the same receiver, they are further arranged by date.

The Letters sub-series is organized somewhat differently. It contains several large groups of letters that all pertain to one individual or family: William C. Batchelor, Jr., Henry Nickel, Claude E. Parker, Frank Pistole, William Slough, and the family of Francis B. Weiler. These groups of letters are arranged separately from the rest. Each group is arranged by sender, then by receiver, and then by date. The rest of the letters fall under the General heading, where they are arranged by sender, then by receiver, and then by date.

The letters of the family of Francis B. Weiler are photocopies of materials in the collection of the Naval Museum, U.S. Naval Academy.

Diaries are organized alphabetically by the name of the person who kept the diary. Original diaries from the 1940s are very fragile. Patrons in our reading room will be given a photocopy of Brigadier Arthur Varley’s diary to use in order to protect the original.

The Blue Bonnet was the shipboard newsletter for the USS Houston (CA-30) crew. This series includes Blue Bonnets from the ship for the years 1933 through 1941, although not all issues are available. The Blue Bonnets from the 1930s are very fragile, and most of them have been photocopied. Patrons in our reading room will be given photocopies of some issues to read rather than originals.

In the late 1940s, Otto Schwarz of the USS Houston Survivors Association revived the Blue Bonnet as that organization’s newsletter. Newsletters from the survivor’s organization include issues from 1960 through the present.

Between 1991 and 1997, a separate newsletter was put out by the Next Generation (a related association for the children and other family members of survivors). That newsletter was discontinued, and as of 1998, the Blue Bonnet has served as the organ for both the Survivors Association and the Next Generation. Recent copies of the Blue Bonnet can be found on the web site http://www.usshouston.org.

As defined by the Naval Historical Center, “A Navy ship's deck log is a daily chronology of certain events for administrative and legal purposes.” The USS Houston (CA-30) deck logs in this collection are photocopies of the originals, which are held by the National Archives at College Park, Maryland. The deck log for February 1942 was reconstructed by Lt. Cmdr. Harold S. Hamlin and submitted to the Bureau for Naval Personnel in September 1945.

A few deck logs for the USS Mount Vernon and the USS Tulsa can be found in the Documents series.

This series includes primarily official government reports, among them Action Reports and Battle Damage Reports for the USS Houston (CA-30) and the USS Houston (CL-81). Reports are arranged alphabetically by title.

This series includes official statements and casualty affidavits given by Houston crew members following their liberation from POW camps. Statements are arranged alphabetically by the name of the person who gave the statement, or the subject of casualty affidavit.

The rosters in this series are sorted alphabetically by the type of people listed, such as crew members from the USS Houston (CA-30), Lost Battalion Association members, or prisoners-of-war.

This series includes original records that were created in the prisoner-of-war camps. One set of records was created at the hospital where the POWs were treated following their liberation. Many of these records are extremely fragile.

Additional information related to the POW camps may be found in the Rosters series.

This series includes citations and other commendations for military service, arranged alphabetically by recipient.

The certificates in this series, which are primarily for military or educational achievements, are arranged alphabetically by recipient.

Programs are arranged alphabetically by their title or by the subject of the event.

Booklets and pamphlets are arranged alphabetically by their creator, title, or subject.

Documents are arranged alphabetically by their title or subject.

Newsletters are arranged alphabetically by the name of the organization that created them.

Articles are arranged alphabetically by title. In many cases, the entire magazine or newsletter that the article may be found in is in the folder.

The clippings were organized during two different periods using two different methods. The first batch was arranged by topic, while the second batch was sorted only by date. The researcher looking for information on a particular topic should check not only the topical folders but also the date-only folders to make sure he has found all related clippings.

Due to the fragility of newsprint, all of the newspaper clippings have been photocopied onto less acidic paper.

This series contains accounts of events related to the USS Houston (CA030) and the POW experience, as recollected by individuals who directly experienced them. Most of these personal accounts were given many decades after the original events.