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Lieutenant Commander Sam Antonia Hill, USN

An Inventory of His Collection in the Navy Department Library


Table of Contents

Overview of the Collection

Biographical Note

Scope and Contents

Arrangement

Detailed Description of the Collection

Scrapbook titled "Navy, 1932 Property of Sam A. Hill USS West Virginia," 1932

Scrapbook titled "Recruiting Duty, 1933 Property of Sam A. Hill," 1933

Scrapbook titled "Recruiting Duty, 1933 Property of Sam A. Hill," 1933-1936

Collection of Poems, circa 1932-1936

Miscellaneous Ephemera, 1930-1946

Restrictions

Index Terms

Administrative Information

 

   

Overview of the Collection

Repository: Navy Department Library
Creator: Sam A. Hill
Title: Sam A. Hill Collection
Dates: 1930-1946 (inclusive)
Dates: 1932-1933 (bulk)
Quantity: 4 boxes
Abstract: The collection consists of two scrapbooks relating to Sam A. Hill's enlisted service in the United States Navy in the early 1930s. They contain newspaper and magazine clippings, cartoons, poems, ships' newspapers and miscellaneous pieces of ephemera relating to ships he served on and the United States Navy in general.

 

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Biographical Note

Sam Antonia Hill was born on 20 November 1910. He enlisted in the United States Navy after graduating from El Paso High School in 1930. Hill served as an enlisted seaman from 1932 until 1944 when he was commissioned as an ensign. He retired in 1957 with the rank of lieutenant commander.

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Scope and Contents

The bulk of the collection consists of two very large scrapbooks assembled by Sam Hill while he served as an enlisted seaman aboard USS West Virginia (BB-48) and USS Maryland (BB-46) during the mid 1930s. They are filled with newspaper and magazine clippings and photographs, cartoons, poems, ephemera and ships' newspapers relating to events and cultural activities in these ships and in the United States Navy in general. Additional items includes ephemera relating to his graduation from El Paso High School in 1930 and a collection of personal notes and poems.

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Arrangement

The collection organized into four boxes: one box for the one 144-page scrapbook of 1932; two boxes for the 200+ page scrapbook for 1933; one box for a leather notebook and three-ring binder containing autographs, poems and personal notes. This box also contains a folder of miscellaneous items of ephemera.

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Detailed Description of the Collection

 

                       
Scrapbook titled "Navy, 1932 Property of Sam A. Hill USS West Virginia," 1932 (Box 1)
    This 144-page scrapbook is filed with newspaper and magazine clippings and photographs, cartoons, poems and ship's newspapers relating to enlisted service in the US Navy, USS West Virginia and the US Navy in general. The scrapbook also contains a small collection of Christmas cards, four original photographs taken during Navy Day and a picture of the ship's football team.
    Contains copies of the following ships' newspapers:
    The Mountaineer (USS West Virginia); issues for 3 September and 27 October 1932.
    The Augusta Cracker (USS Augusta); issues for 30 September and 14 October 1932.
    The Derby (USS St. Louis); issues for 5 and 12 October 1932.
    The Rope Yard (USS Salt Lake City); issue for 24 September 1932.
    The Seabag (USS Oklahoma); issue for 3 September 1932.
    Contact (Fleet Air Base Canal Zone); issue for 12 October 1932.
                       
Scrapbook titled "Recruiting Duty, 1933 Property of Sam A. Hill," 1933 (Box 2 & 3)
    Very large scrapbook (200+ pages) containing newspaper clippings and photographs of US Fleet's arrival and greetings in various parts of call including a section of the Fleet's visit to New York City, the Presidential Review, and change of command that took place there in May-June of 1934. Bulk of the material covers Hill's cruises with the Fleet while serving aboard its flagship, USS Maryland. Contained within this scrapbook are numerous cartoons and news clippings relating to the naval service, post cards documenting his visit to Havana, Panama, and Guantanamo Bay, birthday cards sent to him, and various other pieces of ephemera such as ticket stubs, personal notes, invitations, etc.
    Contains copies of the following ships' newspapers:
    The Mountaineer (USS West Virginia); issues for 27 October and 1 December 1933.
    Catapult (USS Maryland); issues for 30 September and 14 October 1933.
    The Knickerbocker (USS New York); 28 July 1933.
    The Rope Yard (USS Salt Lake City); issue for 24 September 1932. [date correct]
                       
Scrapbook titled "FATE, 1933 to 1936," (Box 4)
    Leather bound notebook containing autographs and personal notes from Hill's shipmates and superior officers.
                       
Collection of Poems, circa 1932-1936 (Box 4)
    Three-ring binder containing a collection of poems, no authors listed [written by Sam Hill?]
                       
Miscellaneous Ephemera, 1930-1946 (Box 4)
    Invitation: El Paso High School Graduation, 1930.
    Graduation greetings from Marint Y Ea, 1930.
    Christmas card USS West Virginia, 1932.
    Christmas card USS Pensacola, 1932.
    Christmas card signed "Gertrude," 1933.
    Sheriff's Notice to Juror, 1933.
    "Memorandum for All Hands," from USS Argonne (description of New York City), 1933.
    Pass from USS West Virginia [no date].
    "Gentleman Jack Tar," (three page monograph on importance of training enlisted men) [no date].
    "Souvenir Booklet of the Panama Canal" [no date].
    "Programa Da Vistia Do Fleet Admiral William F. Halsey U.S.N. Ao Rio-De-Janero July 1946."

 

Restrictions

Restrictions on Use

Manuscripts are unavailable for loan and must be consulted in the library. Photocopying of manuscripts is generally prohibited, though the use of digital cameras by researchers to reproduce non-copyrighted materials is permitted. Permission to photocopy a limited number of pages may be granted by the reference staff, contingent upon the physical state of items. All photocopying of materials shall be done by the reference staff, or under their close supervision. The use of personal scanners by non-library staff personnel must be approved by the reference staff on a document-by-document basis (Reference: Naval History and Heritage Command Instruction [NAVHISTCENTINST] 5070.1C.).

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Index Terms

This record series is indexed under the following controlled access subject terms.

Personal subject:

 

Hill, Sam A.

 

Corporate subject:

 

Augusta (cruiser)

Maryland (battleship)

New York (battleship)

Oklahoma (battleship)

Salt Lake City (cruiser)

West Virginia (battleship)

 

Subject term:

 

Sailors--History--20th Century

 

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Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

Cite as: Historical Manuscripts, Navy Department Library, Naval History and Heritage Command, Washington DC, Sam A. Hill Collection.

Processing Information

The collection was processed and a finding aid prepared by Thomas Wildenberg in April 2004.

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Published: Thu Aug 02 10:15:02 EDT 2018