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In Memory
of
Paul Dollins RM2 - USS Indianapolis (CA-35)

Paul Dollins RM2
1924 - July 30,1945

My Uncle Paul and his big brother, my Father, John Dollins before Paul reported aboard the USS Indianapolis

This page is dedicated to the memory of my uncle, Paul Dollins, a Radioman 2nd Class (RM2) on board the heavy cruiser USS Indianapolis (CA-35) in WWII. Paul, along with 879 of his shipmates, did not survive the sinking of the Indianapolis, by a Japanese submarine the night of July 30, 1945, while the ship was in route to the Leyte Gulf after secretly delivering the Atomic Bomb, that was dropped on Hiroshima, to the American forces on Tinian Island.

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Click on the image below of the Indianapolis to reach the USS Indianapolis Survivors Organization's official website. Here you can read the story of the USS Indianapolis and her crew, which is one of the great tragedies in the history of the U.S. Navy.

USS Indianapolis Logo courtesy USS Indianapolis Survivors Org Website

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Click on the image below to reach the USS Indianapolis (CA-35) Museum website.

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This is a October 1944 photograph of the USS Indianapolis Radiomen on the deck of the USS Indianopolis.
I believe my Uncle Paul is standing in the next to last row, sixth from the left with life raft behind him.

Photo courtesy USS Indianapolis Survivors Org Website

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This is the first telegram my father, John J. Dollins, received on August 12, 1945, about his younger brother Paul being listed as MIA since the sinking of the Indianapolis on July 30, 1945.

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This is the second telegram my father received on September 17, 1945 confirming that his younger brother Paul did not survive the sinking of the Indianapolis

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The letter of condolence Capt McVay, the CO of the USS Indianapolis, sent to my father on September 27, 1945.

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September 1945 Glendale Press Newspaper article about Paul Dollins not surviving the sinking of the Indianapolis.

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The certificate accompanying the Purple Heart awarded posthumously to my uncle on February 25, 1946.

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November 1945 Glendale Press Newspaper article about the pending Court-Martial of Capt. McVay. Note the irony that just minutes before President Truman announced Japan's surrender, the Navy "officially" announced the sinking of the Indianapolis.