Military Mail: Korean War (Frame 10)
This web page, published by the Military Postal History Society, contains the text of Frame 10 of the Korean War exhibit pages created by Bob Collins. They are reproduced and distributed to the public with his permission.
To see exhibit frame images, click on Frame 10 exhibit frame images.
Updated 1/26/2018
REPUBLIC OF KOREA (SOUTH KOREA)
For comparative purposes - June 24, 1950, total number of military personnel: 8 Army Divisions (67,416), Special Units (27,558), Navy (7,715), Air Force (1,897), Marines (1,166) = Total of 105,752 soldiers. Tanks - 0, Armored Vehicles - 27, Aircraft - 22, Patrol Boats - 28.
June 10, 1952 - Posted at Daegoo (city), Namsan-Dong (street) 580 (number) by recipient's father, Yong-Joon Cho. To Sungchan Cho via registered mail (light blue markings center left) stationed at Army Artillery School, Sang Moo Dae (military base), Army Post 158, The Student Section, Second Company, C-Unit No. 1185. Special Army registered mail postal tag in red with number.
Circa 1952 military mail. Sent to Yong-Joon Cho, Esq. (father), Sung-Dae Fire Station Compound, 668 Bumil-Dong, Pusan, South Korea. Two round military censor markings.
Back of cover: One round military censor marking. Lieutenant Sungchan Cho, Command Platoon, Artillery Unit 'C', 522nd Battalion, 1107 Regiment.
April 8, 1953 (postmark date 86.4.8 described below) - South Korean APO #156, Republic of Korea, Army (ROKA) postal service. Handstamp designates 'Air Mail.'
June 21, 1953 - United States Military postal facilities APO #25 at Ohlaimuto, South Korea.
Transferred into South Korean postal system; South Korean 'generic' postal marking on front '86.6.30' and '86.6.28' on back (86 is 4286 in Korean = 1953). Other numbers are the month and day). Delivered to: Kyong Ki Do, Pochum Gun, Po Chon Myun, Sun Yu Ri. KATUSA (Korean Augumentation To the United States Army) South Korean soldiers serving in US Army —- a program to provide Korean-speaking soldiers as translators and other duties.
DEMOCRATIC PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF KOREA (NORTH KOREA)
For comparative purposes - June 24, 1950, total number of military personnel: 10 Army Divisions (120,000), Special Units (61,820), Navy (4,700), Air Force (2,000), Marines (9,000) = Total of 197,520 soldiers. Tanks - 242, Armored Vehicles - 54, Aircraft - 211, Patrol Boats - 30.
September 18, 1950 - Chosun People's Army Field Post No. 3631
Military Mail - FIELD POST CARD - Written by In Hun Lee.
Sent to villagers at Hwa-ong—Ri, Un—san—Meon, Un—san—Kun, Pyeong-buk Province, thanking them 'for supporting people's army with much food. I'm fighting on front line to achieve victory as soon as possible. All should make more effort to produce more weapons to the front.'
Written at the front, then transported to Pyeong Yang (capital of North Korea) Central Post Office, where postmark (October 3, 1950) was applied and card was placed in the mail stream.
Back of post card: Shows two soldiers manning an antiaircraft gun.
DEMOCRATIC PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF KOREA (NORTH KOREA)
Posted in March 1953 - Chosun People's Army Field Post Office Box 1371-Ma
Military Mail - FIELD POST CARD — Written by Chang Sul Park.
Condolence message regarding the Great President Stalin (who died March 5, 1953) sent to Russia (new Russian Premier Malenkov took over on March 6, 1953). Peace negotiations went ahead in Korea at a much faster pace — due to the death of Stalin.
Back of post card: Condolence message states how heartbroken and tearful the Korean people are. 'Chosen People's Army swears to drive out every beast-like US Imperialist from our land & will fight to the last drop of blood,' & other statements.
DEMOCRATIC PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF KOREA (NORTH KOREA)
Preprinted North Korean propaganda envelope from Chosun (Korea) People's Army. Military mail (ca. March 1953) written by Walkyoon Seung to Soviet Army expressing condolences regarding death of Joseph Stalin who died on March 5, 1953.
Cover front: The top line - 'Curse and death to American imperial aggressors.'
Middle handwritten section - 'A Letter of Condolence to Soviet Army.' Military mail round handstamp. Bottom right - 'Chosnn People's Army Fifth Anniversary.'
Back of cover: Top line - Chosun (Korea) People's Army, 51st Unit. Middle line - 3rd Battalion, 7th Division, 5th Company, 4th Platoon. Bottom line - Walkyoon Seung.
PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA
6 Field Armies containing 18 Divisions called 'Volunteers' (peak strength State Secret)
Military postmark March 17,1952. To: Comrade Lu Yu-ying, Shang-hai. From Chinese Volunteer Army, Rear-service Dept, 2nd Branch, Automobile Temporary 7th Regiment, Repair Co., 2nd Platoon, Cheng (sender's surname). Backstamp: Shang-hai April 5,1952.
Propaganda envelope 'Safeguard Home, Protect Country.' Military postmark February 19,1953. To: Comrade Kang Kown Hwa, Kiju, Kanping, Yokwan. Return address: 40th Army, 7th Troop, 1st Platoon, Second Squad. Backstamp: Kiju, Kanping, March 23,1953.
PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA
Chinese Military Postcard honoring a hero, a medic who was on the front lines who saved 25 Chinese soldiers. The medic, Kong Han Ting, was a member of the Voluntary 5th Regiment, Chong Yung Sun Compact. During heavy combat and an artillery barrage, he risked his life saving and giving aid to the wounded soldiers he rescued. Because of this, he was awarded the 'Hero of the Health Department' medal. Obverse side — A medical aid.
PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA
Martyr's Certificate
Notification to the soldier's family telling of his death.
Chinese People's Volunteer Army. The 40th Troop. Office of the Department of Politics.
Postage free, military mail, was sent on September 27, 1951, from North Korea. It arrived in China on October 19, 1951. Backstamp: People's Government, the Third District.
Sent to: Mr. Jiang Kun-Hwa.
Bing-Jiang (province).
Na-Cheng (county).
The 3rd (district).
Ching-De-Pao (village).
Note: Red markings pre-printed on covers, and supplied to Chinese units in Korea.
NNRC and NNSC
(Neutral Nations Repatriation Commission and Neutral Nations Supervising Commission)
Created as part of the armistice signed July 27, 1953. Started their operations September 23, 1953, and while the NNRC ceased operation in early 1955, the NNSC is still on duty today.
Composed of four countries (Czechoslovakia, Poland, Sweden,and Switzerland) with communist and noncommunist representatives. (Shown alphabetically, not by date.) India acted as a 'referee,' and they provided the largest number of troops as they had to supply guard units for the Chinese, North Korean, and United Nations Prisoners of War. The NNRC's job was to interview all the POWs personally, one by one, to see which ones wanted to return to their home country. (One must remember the political climate of the times.) Progress went slowly as a large percentage of Chinese and North Korean soldiers wanted to stay in South Korea or go to Taiwan. The aim of the NNSC was to supervise the peace agreement's principles with observers being on duty on the demarcation line between the north and south frontiers. The NNRC units, as well as the NNSC units, used postal facilities (civilian and military) on both sides of the demarcation line.
Czechoslovakia
March 5, 1955 - Air mail posted at Gae Sung, North Korea, to Czechoslovakia. Lower left 'Received March 15, 1955.' Handstamp at bottom center designates 'Air Mail.' Czechoslovakia is written in Korean, Russian, and Czechoslovakian in the upper left-hand corner of cover. On back of cover 'Chosun, Gae Sung' in same three languages.
Czechoslovakia
July 20, 1954 - Registered mail posted at Chung Jin, North Korea, to Czechoslovakia.
Bottom Registry marking applied over top where two stamps removed prior to marking (believed caused by overpayment of postage). Czechoslovakia written in Korean, Russian, and Czechoslovakian in center of cover, address below. Back of cover shows return address (partially under sealing tape) 'Ham Kyung Buk—Do, Chung Jin City, Central Hospital.'
POLAND
July 31, 1954 - Air mail posted at Gae Sung, North Korea, to Poland. Rectangular handstamp at top left designates 'Air Mail.' Poland written in Korean, Russian, and Polish in top line center of cover. Back of cover: 'Korean, Polish Mission, Panmunjom' in same three languages, and also has Warsaw, Poland, receiving mark dated August 9, 1954.
Sweden
September 17, 1953 - Enclosure dateline states letter was written from Panmnnj om. It was then mailed through United States postal facilities APO #72 at Seoul, South Korea.
January 22, 1955 - Mailed through United States postal facilities.
SWEDEN
December 8, 1953 - Mailed to Sweden through India Military Post Office No. 741, regular and Indian custodial stamps (regular India issue, overprinted in black, reading 'Indian Custodial Unit, Korea' in Hindi). Issued in 1953 to be used by Indian (NNRC) postal facilities in Korea.
Switzerland
December 4, 1953 - Mailed to Switzerland, through India Military Post Office No. 741 using Indian custodial stamps.
August 24, 1954 - Written August 18, 1954, and hand carried by co-worker to Japan where stamps were applied & it was posted. 'We camp on 38th Parallel—All well except great heat.'
PROPAGANDA BOOKLET
American Soldiers:
We are wishing you a Merry Christmas and a. Happy New Year. We also have something to talk to you about. .
Christmas is a. day of peace and happiness. And a day for family reunions. ,
But this Christmas, for you, there is no peace. You are far away from those you love, in Korea, a country you never heard of three years ago—— hundreds of thousands of casualties ago. Your family longs for you across the wide Pacific. Will they ever see you again? Will you ever see them?
You've been told you came here to stop 'Communist aggression.' But what do your own eyes and head tell you? The Koreans are fighting in their own country. The Chinese are defending their own nearby borders. Neither of these peoples ever dreamed of invading the United States
To American Soldiers, Merry Christmas & Happy New Year 1952-53.
The Korean War is an extremely popular collecting area in many other parts of the world, since it was the first large military action involving the United Nations, or 'Blue Helmets' as they are called. The majority of the 'scarcer' items (POW covers being one example) are being bought up by dealers and collectors in Japan, the Peoples Republic of China, South Korea, Holland, and other countries who eagerly outbid collectors from the United States.