THE PREXIES GO TO WAR (Text)

United States:The 'Prexies' Go To War [Author: Alfred F. Kugel]. At various times during 1938, thirty-two denominations of new definitive postage stamps were issued in what was then-named the ‘Presidential Series’, and more colloquially as ‘The Prexies’, since all but three of the values depicted former presidents. The purpose of this exhibit is to show examples of all of the series’ values as used in a military context.

This web page, published by the Military Postal History Society, contains the text content of the exhibit pages created by Alfred F. Kugel, and are reproduced and distributed to the public with his permission.

At various times during 1938, 32 denominations of new U.S. definitive postage stamps were issued,

in what was called the Presidential Series. They were officially known as the “Fifth Bureau Issue”

and more colloquially as “The Prexies” since all but three of the designs depicted the former

Presidents no longer living at the time. As the eventual replacement set wasn’t issued until starting in

1954, it is obvious that the Prexies provided the workhorse postage used in the period just prior to,

during and following World War II. The purpose of this exhibit is to show examples of all of the

values used in a military context of one sort or another. This is not as easy as it sounds since many of

the denominations involved unusual usages, not often seen in the ordinary mail activity of our

soldiers and sailors.

Initially, members of the armed forces stationed outside the continental U.S. were allowed to send

mail at domestic postal rates. However, as of April 1, 1942, surface letters and postcards from

military personnel were allowed free franking. However, this did not apply to special services,

including airmail, parcel post, registration, insurance or printed matter. Thus, the Army Post Offices

and Fleet Post Offices needed to carry an inventory of postage stamps to meet the requirements of

those desiring such services.

Examples have been selected in order to show a wide variety of uses, including from the bases that

were leased from Great Britain before Americay entered the war, inbound and outbound covers to or

from various parts of the world during the fighting, and occupation mail in the aftermath of the

surrender of Germany and Japan.

Considering that the armed forces eventually involved 12 million service men and women, the amount of military mail processed during this period was immense. However, the supply of covers showing the more unusual and higher denomination stamps is relatively modest. In fact, military use of the $5.00 Prexy is negligible, with only a handful (about 5) examples having been reported.

Highly unusual address tag for an airmail shipment (of documents?) from the office of Admiral Nimitz, Commander in Chief of the Pacific Fleet (located on Guam at the time) to Secretary of the Navy Forrestal in Washington. Counting stamps on the reverse of the tag, a total of $30.46 in postage was affixed, including two copies of the $5.00 Prexie. This meant 507 times the 6¢ military concession rate for airmail, which would cover a shipment weighing approximately 16 pounds.

*¢ BENJAMIN FRANKLIN Postwar Military Mission in China 1948

1¢ PRESIDENT GEO. WASHINGTON Wartime Army Post Office in Newfoundland 1942

14¢ MARTHA WASHINGTON Wartime Army Post Office in Virgin Is. 1943

Vga od elec Hijo Gop Ye aly OF ate

ane —

se io yxy an eal f meer

— aa

—

There was no rate for the “¢ Prexie denomination so it is never seen as a single franking but always

in multiples or in conjunction with other postage. Here, a pair is used on a postcard from APO 909 at

the Military Mission in Nanking. The 1¢ Prexie was normally used to pay the rate for postcards, in

this case from APO 803-A in Newfoundland. The primary use of the 1¢ value was for third class

(unsealed) letters. The cover shown here was sent from APO 849 at Benedict Field on St. Croix

2¢ PRESIDENT JOHN ADAMS Wartime Army Post Office in Hawaii 1945 3¢ PRESIDENT THOMAS JEFFERSON Prewar Marine P.O. in Newfoundland in 1941 4¢ PRESIDENT JAMES MADISON Postwar Occupation Army P.O. in Germany 1949

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wt here. ¥heve as Advts ¥ Ste OF intevesr ¥Y Aoved : [hava bred Steves Fav SA.

Al ci ng ?K un et ve ri ag

43 FAG Phas a ecue oe idee Patags. Germany how tae Aum Saiaricg Ose ie ee

ubersPos 8 Ne. 31

Usias IF Pov Same. tary 4s the 4, Fel Kave, Ldred

This 2¢ Prexie is shown on a homemade wrapper for printed matter. The rate for this class of mail matter was 1’4¢, so it was '4¢ overpaid from APO 957 at Schofield Barracks, Oahu. The 3¢ stamp paid the first class rate for letters, such as this example from the U.S. Marine Base at Argentia, Newfoundland. The 4¢ stamp paid the airmail postcard rate established on January 1, 1949.

4%¢ THE WHITE HOUSE Wartime Army Post Office in Hawaii (1943?)

5¢ PRESIDENT JAMES MONROE Postwar Army Post Office in Germany 1948

6¢ PRESIDENT JOHN QUINCY ADAMS Wartime Army Post Office in Morocco 1943

COMITE INTERNATIONAL DE LA CROIX-ROUGE - GENEVE

AGENCE CENTRALE DES PRISONNIERS DE GUERRE

Int .Committee of the - POSTS

Cross, OMGUS «PO 74 May i a |

WTER ARMA CARITAS US army f 3 —

> Oh = pore (3232231)

Oy. (avn) Aik 4: Pork a PA, La wy] We,

ia sideninahicineenee rr

— oF | $e v Sty,

a-fff s—

The 4'4¢ denomination paid for triple weight third class matter, in this case on part of a parcel wrapper, likely from APO 33 at Lihue, Kauai. The 5¢ stamp was used primarily for international letters, such as this Red Cross message from APO 742 in Berlin to Switzerland. The 6¢ stamp was

widely used to pay the military concession rate on airmail letters, as this example from APO 524 at Gazes Airport in Casablanca.

7¢ PRESIDENT ANDREW JACKSON Wartime Army Post Office in Australia 1943 8¢ PRESIDENT MARTIN VAN BUREN 9¢ PRESIDENT WILLIAM H. HARRISON Inbound to U.S.M.C. P.O. New Caledonia 1943

ie Conan. fhe + Ortetan, (Me) Led 8.

Maa 66 615") Bee thor Pol es |

Sau trencices, Cipsrnin , ;

For lack of a 7¢ solo franking, the 7¢ and 8¢ are shown in combination on an airmail stationery envelope. The 6¢ imprint pays the postage rate, and the 15¢ in adhesives pays the registration fee from APO 920 at Mareeba, Australia. A pair of the 9¢ stamps on another stationery envelope pays

the 15¢ for registration and 3¢ for a return receipt on a registered letter sent to the 18" Marine Headquarters at Marine Post Office 1045 in Noumea, New Caledonia.

10¢ PRESIDENT JOHN TYLER Wartime Army Post Office in Hawaii 1943 11¢ PRESIDENT JAMES K. POLK 12¢ PRESIDENT ZACHERY TAYLOR Wartime Army Post Office in Egypt 1943

For lack of an L1¢ solo franking, the 10¢ and 11¢ are shown in combination on an airmail envelope, thus paying the 6¢ postage rate and the 15¢ registration fee from APO 957 at Schofield Barracks, Oahu. Although the cover franked with the 12¢ Prexie is not so marked, it pays the rate for a double- weight airmail letter from APO 616 in Cairo,

13¢ PRESIDENT MILLARD FILLMORE Postwar Army Post Office in England 1945

14¢ PRESIDENT FRANKLIN PIERCE Wartime Army Post Office in England 1944

The 13¢ Prexie is shown on the address portion of an insured packet from APO 22801 from a soldier in transit shortly after the end of the war. This postage rate would cover a third class item weighing 4 oz. with insurance coverage between $5 and $25. A 14¢ stamp is shown on a 6¢ airmail stationery

envelope. It was mailed by a civilian employee of Standard Oil (N.J.) from APO 507 in Liverpool, with payment of the 20¢ clipper airmail rate to Hawaii.

15¢ PRESIDENT JAMES BUCHANAN Prewar Army Post Office in Trinidad 1941 16¢ PRESIDENT ABRAHAM LINCOLN Wartime Army Post Office in Tunisia 1944

Trinidad was the location of one of the bases leased to the U.S. in exchange for 50 old destroyers, which were badly needed for convoy duty. The 15¢ denomination paid the standard airmail rate for a letter from APO 803 at Port of Spain prior to the military franchise rate. The 16¢ stamp paid for 6¢ airmail and the 10¢ special delivery fee on the lower cover sent from APO 372 at Bizerte, Tunisia.

3 2 17¢ PRESIDENT ANDREW JOHNSON we

. £g Postwar Occupation A.P.O., in Japan 1945 7

As official mail, this cover

was free from _ ordinary postage. However, the 17¢ denomination was _ used,

along with a 3¢ stamp, to pay the 20¢ registration fee for

this letter from APO 704 at Tachikawa Air Base in

December 1945,

“e X

18¢ PRESIDENT ULYSSES S. GRANT Wartime Army Post Office in England 1944 19¢ PRESIDENT RUTHERFORD B. HAYES Postwar Domestic Soldier’s Mail 1945

halal pape Ba a

GE BE pap

ff}

PASSED BY

Gee) a NER

Uf, ee D Clty HL

The 18¢ Prexie was used on March 9, 1944 to pay for a single-weight registered latter at 3¢ postage plus the 15¢ registration fee. In this case, the letter was sent from transit APO 9516 in England. The 19¢ stamp plus a l¢ value on the lower cover paid the 20¢ registration fee on November 8, 1944 (which had increased from 15¢ as of March 26, 1944). This example mailed domestically by a Sergeant was free of ordinary postage.

20¢ PRESIDENT JAMES A. GARFIELD

Wartime Army Post Office in Fiji 1945

This official cover was free from ordinary _ postage. However, it was necessary

to pay the 20¢ registration fee for this letter from APO 913 at Nadi Air Base on Viti Levu in March 1945.

21¢ PRESIDENT CHESTER A. ARTHUR 22¢ PRESIDENT GROVER CLEVELAND

S/S@t E.L.Vanderford Z™ Repair Sadn. 2 Air Depot Group 4.P 0. ep Pos

New York City ,N.Y. '

Wartime Army Post Office in England 1942 Wartime Navy Post Office 1944

Mr. G, W. Bartlett

34 Edgewood hd.

Glen Ridge, N. J.

U. 8. A.

This 21¢ Prexie was used from APO 875 at the Army Air Force base in Kettering, England in May 1942. [t is unclear what postage rate it was intended to pay, but it presumably covered an airmail letter at 6¢ postage plus 15¢ registration. The 22¢ stamp was used to pay for double-weight airmail at 12¢ plus special delivery service at 10¢ from the Fleet Post Office servicing the 301 Navy Seabee Battalion.

24¢ PRESIDENT BENJAMIN HARRISON Inbound to USMC P.O. New Caledonia 1943 25¢ PRESIDENT WILLIAM McKINLEY Wartime Army Post Office in Australia 1944

This 24¢ Prexie was used on a letter to a Naval officer at the Marine Corps Post Office #1035 in

Noumea. It paid for 6¢ airmail postage, 15¢ registration and 3¢ return receipt fee. Below, the 25¢

stamp was used on a heavy envelope from APO 920 in Cairns, Australia. Sent by airmail, it would

have been a penny overpaid in the fourth weight class.

30¢ PRESIDENT THEODORE ROOSEVELT Wartime Army P.O. in the New Hebrides 1944 50¢ PRESIDENT WILLIAM H. TAFT Wartime Army P.O. in the Philippines 1945

The 30¢ Prexie was used on a cover from APO 502 at Espiritu Santo, New Hebrides in March 1944. It paid 12¢ for double-weight airmail, 15¢ for registration and 3¢ for a return receipt. Below, a 50¢ stamp paid the standard civil postage rate for airmail from the Philippines to the U.S. mainland. It was processed by the APO at Iloilo.

$1.00 PRESIDENT WOODROW WILSON Wartime Navy P.O. 1944

S. B. Beach, Sle CBMY 539-4, Fleet Post Office San Francisco, Calif,

~ & bod ‘ay. on vill a

a ake ae Nhs ah eeatiaahoney a

its cities ie Ea

The dollar values of the Prexies were primarily used on heavy and/or valuable mail. Three copies of the $1.00 Wilson stamp plus 75¢ in additional postage was affixed to this address portion of a light- weight cardboard box sent from Seabee Mobile Unit #539. With no indication of weight, it is not

possible to determine how much was allocated to pay for postage and how much for insurance.