Back Issues

In 1939, the VALB began issuing the Volunteer for Liberty in New York. Appearing every other month, the 4-page publication explained the organization’s official positions, disseminated information about Spain and Spanish affairs, and passed on personal information about the vets. One early editor was veteran James Benet, a professional journalist.

In 1941, the Los Angeles Post of the VALB issued a similar publication titled the Western Volunteer, but suspended publication after half a dozen issues. After World War II, the publication appeared more irregularly, and during the 1950s VALB changed the name to The Volunteer. The largest run of the periodical exists in the ALBA collection at New York University’s Tamiment Library.

Beginning in March 2010, the Volunteer also appears as an online magazine, at www.albavolunteer.org, featuring the full content of the print version, plus the ALBA blogvideos, podcasts, etc.

For recent back issues–of both the online edition and the print edition–please consult the archives page of the online edition at albavolunteer.org/archive/

Some older issues can be viewed and downloaded through the links below:

1938: January

1941: February (part 1)February (part 2)MarchApril

1942: January

1944: JanuaryFebruaryMarchMayOctoberOctober supplement

1945: JanuaryJanuary supplementFebruaryMarchMayJune supplement

1946: NovemberApril

1947: April

1975: December

1976: December

1979: March,  September

1980: March

1981: December

1987: FebruaryNovember

1988: AprilAugustDecember

1989: March

1991: Summer

1994: September

1995: MarchSeptember

1996: March

1997: December

1998: MarchSeptemberDecember

1999: MarchJulySeptember

2000: JanuaryMarchSeptemberJuly

2001: MarchSeptemberDecember

2002: MarchSeptemberDecember

2003: MarchJuneSeptemberDecember

2004: MarchJuneSeptemberDecember

2005: MarchJuneSeptember,  December

2006: MarchJuneSeptemberDecember

2007: MarchJuneSeptemberDecember

2008: MarchJuneSeptemberDecember

2009: MarchJuneSeptemberDecember

2010: March, June 2010 [issued online only],  SeptemberDecember

2011: DecemberSeptemberJuneMarch

2012: DecemberSeptemberJuneMarch

2013: JuneMarch

2014: JuneSeptember

In 2007, The Volunteer began publishing a comic titled Robeson in Spain, detailing Paul Robeson’s adventures with the Abraham Lincoln Brigade in 1938.  Three years later, the vets made him an honorary member of VALB.  The comic is produced by Joshua Brown and Peter Carroll. This project is brought to you in part by a grant from the Puffin Foundation, Ltd.  Created in collaboration with the Bay Area Paul Robeson Centennial Committee.

In June 2009, ALBA compiled the series into a special Robeson in Spain issue of The Volunteer.