Author Archive for Chris Brooks

Jack Shirai, (Japanese-American Volunteer, Killed at Villanueva de la Cañada –July 1937) By Ludwig D.

November 30, 2018
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Jack Shirai, (Japanese-American Volunteer, Killed at Villanueva de la Cañada –July 1937) By Ludwig D.

                      Jack Shirai, (Japanese-American Volunteer, killed at Villanueva de la Cañada –July 1937) By Ludwig D. The Volunteer for Liberty, V.1, No. 17, October 4, 1937.   I hear that Comrade Shirai fell. Who did not know him? His funny pidgin English, His smiling...
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The History of the MacKenzie-Papineau Battalion by Frank Rogers

November 17, 2018
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The History of the MacKenzie-Papineau Battalion by Frank Rogers

                                The Volunteer for Liberty, V2, No. 35, November 7, 1938 The Canadian Mac-Paps, one of the hardest fighting units in the International Brigades have blazed a trail of important military achievements since Oct. 13th, 1937 – the day...
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Commoners in Spain: Students, Faculty, and Alumni of Commonwealth College in the Spanish Civil War

November 12, 2018
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Commoners in Spain: Students, Faculty, and Alumni of Commonwealth College in the Spanish Civil War

k-Indicates killed or missing in action k –(Canadian) Arvid Carlson (also known as Arthur) was born in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania around 1909.  His family was of either Finnish or Swedish background.  Carlson likely attended Commonwealth College at some point in the 1930s. He joined the Canadian Communist Party in 1932. Carlson was single and living...
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Commonwealth College and the Spanish Civil War

November 9, 2018
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Members of the New Llano Cooperative Colony in Louisiana formed Commonwealth College in 1923 Commonwealth was envisioned as a Labor College “… a college specifically aimed at the leadership of what they designated as a new social class, the industrial worker. The school moved to site thirteen miles outside of Mena, in Polk County,...
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Company One Mac-Paps by a Member of the 1st Company

November 2, 2018
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Company One Mac-Paps by a Member of the 1st Company

Company One Mac-Paps By a Member of the 1st Company The Volunteer for Liberty, V. 2, No. 21, June 15, 1938 It was a year ago this month the first company was formed. For a while it was the only company in the Mackenzie-Papineau Battalion. The Washington Battalion had left for the front, and...
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Under Mosquito Crest by Volunteer Staff

October 26, 2018
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Under Mosquito Crest by Volunteer Staff

          The Volunteer for Liberty, V2, No. 3,  January 29, 1938 A ghost story of the war has come our way. Readers may interpret it as they please; the comrade who tells it offers no explanation, nor shall we. Here it is. . Comrade C. went into the Brunete offensive...
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Sam by A. C. B. [Alvah Cecil Bessie]

October 19, 2018
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Sam by A. C. B. [Alvah Cecil Bessie]

                          The Volunteer for Liberty, V.2, No. 31, September 5, 1938. The kid looks and acts about eighteen but when you ask him how old he is he says he’s 23. “”so you’re 23 are you?” said...
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Getting Worried by unattributed

October 12, 2018
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Getting Worried by unattributed

                            The Volunteer for Liberty, V2, No. 31, September 5, 1938. The Company Commissar was harassed. The boys had been beefing; the grub line was snarled up and sounded like the Chicago stockyards in a thunderstorm. Up walks Comrade S… Said...
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Remember This by William P. Smith, Jr., Lincoln Battalion

October 4, 2018
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Remember This by William P. Smith, Jr., Lincoln Battalion

                    Remember This, William P. Smith, Jr., Lincoln Battalion The Volunteer for Liberty, V. 1, No. 9, August 9, 1937   REMEMBER THIS I’ve heard you sobbing in the night And know your fears are not for fright But for the dead. Those Comrades lost...
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The Trek That Led to Spain by J. McGrandle

September 28, 2018
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The Trek That Led to Spain by J. McGrandle

The Volunteer for Liberty, V2, No. 25, July 19, 1938                         This anniversary wouldn’t seem complete to me without some mention of the “Vancouver Stiffs” who are fighting side by side with the rest of the International against fascism. It isn’t strange when...
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