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USS Savannah (AOR-4) Collector Archive — Cruise Book, Reunion Booklets, Signed Presidential Letter & Ephemera — Navigator\'s Personal CollectionA substantial grouping of memorabilia documenting the U.S. Navy replenishment oiler USS Savannah (AOR-4), commissioned December 5, 1970 and decommissioned July 28, 1995, the fifth Navy ship to carry the Savannah name.This archive traces directly to LT John Mahoney, USN, who served as Savannah\'s Navigator. A signed photo backing bearing the handwritten name \"John Mahoney\" is included in this lot, and the ship\'s own history volume identifies LT John Mahoney, USN as Navigator in the Navigation Department section — Boston native, University of Virginia psychology graduate, aboard Savannah since November 1972. The matching name across both pieces makes a strong, direct case that this collection comes from his personal materials.What\'s included: • Hardcover Savannah history/cruise volume covering the December 1973–June 1974 Mediterranean deployment, with commanding officer and executive officer biographies, the Navigation Department page featuring LT Mahoney, division crew photos, a Barcelona, Spain port-visit spread, and full-page underway ship photography. A bronze/gilt \"USS Savannah — We Serve With Pride\" ship\'s crest medallion is mounted to the front board.
• Signed photo backing, \"John Mahoney,\" matching the Navigator identified in the cruise book above
• 1st Reunion booklet, Savannah, Georgia, May 1–4, 2003
• 4th Reunion booklet, Savannah, Georgia, November 9–12, 2008
• Letter on Jimmy Carter\'s personal letterhead, dated May 2003, addressed \"To the Officers and Crew of the USS Savannah (AOR-4)\" marking the ship\'s first reunion — note this is a reunion greeting on Carter\'s personal stationery; it is not independently authenticated as hand-signed versus autopen, and is offered as-is without that guarantee.
• Reference sheets on the S.S. Savannah Monument (Savannah, GA) and a printed history of all Navy/merchant vessels named Savannah
• Later color reunion photo pages with named veterans (multiple named crew and spouses pictured)Genuinely uncommon as an assembled unit — a ship\'s cruise book with a mounted crest, tied by name to its own Navigator, alongside matching reunion ephemera and a presidential letter. Strong appeal to Savannah AOR-4 veterans, their families, and Navy/replenishment-ship militaria collectors.Condition notes: Please review all photos carefully. The cruise book shows general shelf wear with corner bumping on the crest medallion; reunion booklets show light handling wear; the Carter letter and printed sheets are clean and unmarked.From the Chapter & Vintage collection — old things, new chapters.
Carefully packed and shipped with full insurance.
