Military Postal History Society Outstanding Service Award
The award consists of a model Civil War cannon, the 12-pounder Light
Gun known as the "Napoleon". The weapon was named for Emperor Louis
Napoleon of France who sponsored the design in the 1850s. At the
beginning of the Civil War there were only a few dozen Napoleons in
the United States. By the end of the war the North had over 1100 of
them and the South had about half that number. The field piece was
popular as it was lighter in weight than its predecessors and much
more mobile. It had an effective range of 1000 yards and a
maximum range of nearly one mile.
A bit of history: the first recipient was Isadore Willinger,
a key participant in the Society from its founding.
In early 1993 (he was 100 at the time), the Board
honored him with this Award.
2023 MPHS Outstanding Service Award to David Kent
From time to time the MPHS Board recognizes outstanding
service to the Society by a member.
David Kent joined what was then the War Cover Club in 1978 and is today the 22nd most senior member of
MPHS. He served as Editor of the Military Postal History Society Bulletin for twenty years (1994-2014) and
has continued to serve as a Director of the Society ever since then, arranging our annual meetings and
coordinating joint conventions of the Military Postal History Society with the American Society of Polar
Philatelists and the Universal Ship Cancellation Society at national shows.
In addition to his editorial work, Dave contributed occasional feature articles and almost always had an article
on the last page of the MPHS Bulletin. Outside the MPHS, he has authored 3,000 articles in the philatelic press
on a variety of subjects including topicals, military and naval covers, and new stamp issues. For over thirty
years he has been a staff writer and associate editor of Mekeel’s & Stamps Magazine. He was editor-in-chief of
the Catalog of United States Naval Postmarks published by the Universal Ship Cancellation Society. He was
one of the country’s last newspaper philatelic columnists, having authored a stamp column for nearly thirty
years in the Hartford (Connecticut) Courant. In 2007 Dave was elected to the APS Writers Hall of Fame.
Dave served USCS as a director, secretary-treasurer, vice president, and president. He served the American
Topical Association as director, vice president and president, and for many years chaired the ATA’s Americana
unit. He was named a Distinguished Topical Philatelist by the ATA in 1986.
In 2009 Dave received the APS John N. Luff award for exceptional contributions to philately.
2011 Service Awards Presented to Jim Boyden and Myron Fox
An issue of the Bulletin from Fall 2011 contains a message from the
current President Tony Brooks, regarding the CHICAGOPEX
Society meeting and these awards.
Unfortunately, we do not have any other information.
Alan Warren Receives 2008 Service Award
Alan Warren was presented with the Outstanding Service Award for
services to the MPHS during the MPHS Annual Meeting at ROMPEX,
Denver on May 17, 2008.
Alan Warren joined the War Cover Club, now MPHS, around 1982.
He served as a director from 1989 to 2007 and as convention chairman from
1990 to 2007. In 1993 he inherited the position of publicity chairman
from the late Theo Van Dam, and served in that office until 2007.
Alan also contributes regular columns to the MPHS Bulletin on military
area show awards and military postal history articles that appear in
other journals.
Robert Kinsley Receives 2007 Service Award
Robert Kinsley was awarded the Outstanding Service Award for
services to the MPHS.
Former MPHS Secretary Bob Kinsley
accepts the
Outstanding Service Award from President Kugel (right)
Outstanding Service Award
presented to
Bob Kinsley at the 2007 convention
Russ Carter Received 2004 Service Award
Russ Carter won the society's 2004 Outstanding Service Award
for his ongoing research into military records at the
National Archives that have resulted in a series of books
published by the society.
Carter updated and greatly expanded the Army Post Office (APO)
directories that the society has published over the years in
many editions. Three volumes in the 7th edition have been issued so
far. Volume 1 addresses Numbered Army & Air Force Post Office
Locations including the base post offices, postal regulating
stations, and the regular APOs. Volume 2 covers the temporary post
offices numbers that were used by military personnel en route to
an existing unit or a new unit. The third volume by Carter
lists the numbered Navy and Marine Corps post office locations.
Russ Carter's latest publication is a diversion from the
APO listings and reveals a new area of research that he stumbled
on while reviewing records in the National Archives.
War Ballots: Military Voting by Mail from the Civil War to WW II
describes the regulations for voting by military personnel while
they were away from home in training camps or abroad. For WW II
there were many types of state and national election forms and
envelopes. These are illustrated with details on how they were
handled state by state.
Boehret's Receive 2003 Service Award
The Military Postal History Society's Outstanding Service
Award for 2003 goes to Diane and Jesse Boehret for their many
years of dedication to the society, the field of military
postal history, and to the hobby in general. Jesse Boehret
is a past president and director of MPHS, formerly the War
Cover Club. During his administration he initiated programs
to recommend dealers and judges, who were MPHS members, to
the national shows where the society held its annual conventions.
He also emphasized the need for regular annual conventions
and regional meetings of the society. In recent years MPHS has
offered a military postal history grand and reserve grand award
at its convention shows. The awards go to the two best military
related exhibits as selected by the show jury. Jesse Boehret has
won many golds with his exhibit of the German POW Camps in
Japan in World War I. In 1980 he was named an accredited judge
and is also an accredited chief judge of the APS.
Diane Boehret has been an ardent supporter of her husband's work
with the MPHS and often remained at the society booth when the
membership meetings were in session. She is past president of the
American Philatelic Congress and has been president of the Postal
History Society for fourteen years. She has received national grand
awards with her exhibits of The German Post Offices in China
During the Boxer Rebellion, and the German Military Mission in
Turkey 1914-1918. Diane is also an accredited APS judge.
In 1997 this husband and wife team became the only such duo
to win the National Philadelphia Stamp Exhibition's local and
national merit awards the same year. The Boehrets are the
eighth and ninth recipients of the MPHS service award since
its inception in 1992. Previous winners include Theo Van Dam,
Stanley Jersey, and Norman Gruenzner.
Isadore Willinger First Recipient of the MPHS Service Award, 1993
The following clip is taken from the April 1993 issue of the Bulletin. It
indicates that he was 100 years old at that time. The Board action
to present the Award took place in early 1993.
Previous Service Award Recipients
| YEAR |
RECIPIENT |
| 2008 |
Alan Warren |
| 2007 |
Robert Kinsley |
| 2004 |
Russ Carter |
| 2003 |
Diane and Jesse Boehret |
| 2002 |
Norman Gruenzner |
| 1997 |
Stanley C. Jersey |
| 1995 |
Myron Fox |
| 1994 |
Theo Van Dam |
| 1993 |
Lincoln E. Kieffer |
| 1993 |
Thomas F. McGrath |
| 1993 |
Isadore Willinger |