ALBA

Teaching History | Inspiring Activism | Upholding Human Rights | Established by the Veterans of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade in 1979.

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Griffith Bowen Washburn was born #otd in NYC, 1913. He graduated from Harvard in 1935 and joined the YCL in 1936. He was a graduate student at Columbia when he arrived in Spain on June 21, 1937. He served with ALB and the Mac Paps until he returned to the US on December 20, 1938.

Griffith worked at Greystone Psychiatric Hospital before he served in the US Army during WWII. He married Bertha Doris Kelsall and they had a son, Phillip, before he passed on February 23, 1954.

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Samuel Lissitz was born #otd in Chicago, 1910. He graduated from the University of Chicago in 1932 and joined the YCL in 1934. He worked as a chemist and arrived in Spain on April 24, 1937. He served in the John Brown Battery until he returned to the US on December 20, 1938.

He also went by the name Bob Cole while in Spain and in the CP. He later served in the US Army during WWII. He worked as a healthcare administrator in the Pacific and Midwest, including as the director of the Robinson Jewish Home on Aging in Salem, OR.

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Daniel Kraman was born #otd in Kolomyia, 1895. He worked as a photographer and taxi driver in NYC. He joined in the CPUSA in 1934 and arrived in Spain on March 7, 1937. He served with ALB and the 1st Regiment de Tren until he returned to the US on February 9, 1939.

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Henry George was born #otd in Huntsville, 1906. A member of the CPUSA and WAA, he was a sign painter in Philadelphia when he arrived in Spain on July 5, 1937. He served with ALB as a clerk and cook from Quinto to Ebro. He returned to the US on December 15, 1938.

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Frank Glasgow Tinker Jr was born #otd in Vermilion Parish, 1909. He joined the US Navy in 1926 and hoped to become a pilot. He graduated from the Naval Academy in 1933 but was unable to get a job for a year. He eventually served as recon floatplane pilot on the USS San Francisco.

He arrived in Spain on January 3, 1937. He served with the Republican Air Force as a successful fighter pilot and ace before he returned to the US on September 9, 1937.

Frank published a memoir, Some Still Live, in 1938. He suffered from PTSD, was harassed by the FBI and denied commission as a pilot in the US Navy or Army due to his service in Spain.
On June 13, 1939 — a month before he turned 30 — Frank took his own life.

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Salaria Kea was born #otd in Milledgeville, 1913. Raised in Akron, she faced racial discrimination. She sailed for Spain on March 27, 1937, serving as the only African American nurse. She was WIA at the Villa Paz Hospital, returning to the US on May 16, 1938.

Read more about Salaria's life here:
https://t.co/HhqLANoX3z

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William Baker Kwanaekoa was born #otd in Honolulu, 1909. He served in the Coast Guard before he worked as a deep sea diver, sailor, and Teamsters truck driver. He arrived in Spain on August 19, 1937 and was WIA in the jaw at Brunete. He returned to the US on December 20, 1938.

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At 4PM ET / 1PM PT today, join us for a discussion of the film Spain Again (1968) starring Abraham Lincoln volunteer Alvah Bessie.

This is the last chance to register! Attendance is free.

Spain Again
Thursday, July 9 at 4 PM ET / 1 PM PT
With Discussion Leader Randal Scamardo
Moderated by ALBA Board Member Sebastiaan Faber

Register here: https://t.co/2jpCmhidaf

[ALBA @LincolnBrigade]

Tomorrow, join us for a discussion of the 1968 film Spain Again, starring Abraham Lincoln vet Alvah Bessie.

Register here: https://t.co/2jpCmhiKZN

Attendance is free, but registration is required and space is limited.

Spain Again
Thursday, July 9 at 4 PM ET / 1 PM PT
With Discussion Leader Randal Scamardo
Moderated by ALBA Board Member Sebastiaan Faber

[ALBA @LincolnBrigade]

In Spain, efforts to transform the Valley of Cuelgamuros, the former Francoist monument once known as the Valley of the Fallen, are facing resistance. Machinery used in the site’s “resignification” project was tagged with pro-Franco messages.

Read more:
https://t.co/u8eQgYED2f

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Martti David Maki was born #otd Newberry, 1911. He worked as a journalist and organizer with the CPUSA. He arrived in Spain on May 30, 1937, served with ALB as a squad leader at Brunete and was cited for distinguished service. He was WIA at Ebro and MIA during the Retreats.

Martti was held as a POW at the San Pedro concentration camp until he returned to the US on May 6, 1939. He joined the US Army on May 25, 1942, fought in the 26th Infantry Division, and helped liberate the Gusen concentration camp.

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Bernard Ades was born #otd in Baltimore, 1903. He studied law at UMB and economics at Johns Hopkins. He joined the CPUSA in 1931 and worked for the ILD. He was beaten for defending Euel Lee, a Black farm worker charged with murder in Jim Crow Maryland after he was denied wages.

He sailed for Spain on February 20, 1937 and served with ALB as a commissar until he returned to the US on September 30, 1937. Eventually, Bernard resettled in the Bronx and continued to face political repression. He was surveilled by the FBI until his death in 1986.

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Leonard Bertram Levenson was born #otd in 1913, NYC. He attended City College and graduated from NYU Law. He worked as a fingerprint specialist with the FBI before he joined the CPUSA in 1935. He arrived in Spain on June 17, 1937 and served with ALB as a scout and sniper.

Leonard was WIA three times but returned to US on December 15, 1938. He remained active in the Long Island CPUSA, worked at International Publishers and edited VALB’s #VolunteerForLiberty newsletter.

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Elijah Joseph Taylor Jr. was born #otd in Griffin, GA, 1907. He joined the YCL in 1934 and worked as a machinist. He arrived in Spain on June 20, 1937 and served with ALB. He was WIA twice and returned to the US on December 20, 1938. He later served in the US Army during WWII.

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Louis Bortz was born #OtD in Hartford, 1910. He joined the YCL in 1926 and sailed for Spain on February 6, 1937. He served as a driver with ALB in the Auto Park. He returned to the US on December 15, 1938. He later served as a mechanic in the US Army Air Corps during WWII. He remained an important CPUSA activist until he passed on August 16, 2002.

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Frank Walter Buturla was born #otd in Bridgeport, 1910 to a Polish American family. He joined the NMU and CPUSA and worked as a driver and sailor. He arrived in Spain on May 5, 1937. Frank served with ALB until he was WIA at Brunete. He served with the John Brown Artillery Battery before returning to the US on February 4, 1939. He worked as a sailor until he passed away on January 22, 1948.

[ALBA @LincolnBrigade]

Do not forget to register for our discussion of Spain Again, the 1968 film directed by Jaime Camino and starring ALB volunteer Alvah Bessie.

Attendance is free, but registration is required and space is limited.

Spain Again | España otra vez
Thursday, July 9 at 4 PM ET / 1 PM PT
With Discussion Leader Randal Scamardo
Moderated by ALBA Board Member Sebastiaan Faber
Register here: https://t.co/2jpCmhiKZN

[ALBA @LincolnBrigade]

Anthony Toney was born #otd in Gloversville, 1913. e arrived in Spain on April 27, 1938 and served with ALB until he was WIA in the jaw in September 1938.

Anthony returned to the US on December 20, 1938. He wrote two books on art. He died on September 10, 2004. His family cataloged his 80 years of art online.

Read the full page obituary published in the #VolunteerForLiberty below, written by his daughter Anita, who is also an artist: https://t.co/4eMyx3YioW

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In honor of Pride Month, ALBA is remembering LGBTQ+ members of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade who crossed borders to fight fascism during the Spanish Civil War.

Consider keeping their legacies alive by donating to ALBA: https://t.co/jXvFKGM2PD

[ALBA @LincolnBrigade]

In honor of Pride Month, ALBA is remembering LGBTQ+ members of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade who crossed borders to fight fascism during the Spanish Civil War.

Consider keeping their legacies alive by donating to ALBA: https://t.co/jXvFKGMAFb