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Background Information Regarding MPHS Historical Publications

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Introduction

The articles and notices reproduced below, some of which were published more than a quarter century ago, provide a glimpse inside the meticulous planning and hard work required to bring these critically important books to the market. At this point we call these “historical” MPHS publications, but they are in fact the best information currently available. The MPHS resolves to continue to add more information and resources for the collecting public.

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From the Fall 2000 issue of the MPHS Bulletin

Future MPHS Publications

by Russ Carter

Due to the volume of information that has been collected over the past several years, it has become necessary to break the current APO-FPO catalog into several parts. Additionally, there is a need to update the old Murphy book on Navy and Marine Corps ground and air units with their locations, The following is a generalized list of what is currently planned. Other volumes may be added as needed.

U.S. Army & Air Force Postal History

US. Navy Postal History

U.S. Marine Corps Postal History

By breaking down the information into smaller volumes it is hoped that the Society will have a greater number of publications that are cheaper, more specialized, more complete, and updated more often.

Norm Gruenzner is currently preparing the volume on Construction Battalion (SeaBee) units for final edit, with an expected publication date later this year. Norm also has a tremendous amount of work completed on the Motor Torpedo Boat Squadrons,

Due to recent discoveries in the National Archives, Russ Carter’s work on the volume of APOs, BPOs, and PRSs has been delayed and the publication date moved to early 2001.

Russ has also made substantial progress on both the Temporary APOs and the Navy Aviation publications.

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From the Winter 2009 issue of the MPHS Bulletin

This snippet from the Bulletin shows the individual descriptions of publications.

Note Volume 7 of the “numbered military post offices” book by Russ Carter, which was broken into 3 parts.

The prices have been redacted, since they are no longer appropriate.

MILITARY POSTAL HISTORY SOCIETY LITERATURE FOR SALE

Greetings Postal History of the Selective Service and the Draft 1917 to 1976

by Russ Carter

Spiral bound (180 pages w/160 illustrations.

Cost: US members $20; other members $35; non-members US $35; overseas non-members $45. GD: $10; Non-member $20.

“We Build - We Fight” Locations and Assignment of United States Naval Construction Units 1941-2005

by Norm Gruenzner

Spiral bound with a clear plastic cover, (421 pages w/76 illustrations).

Cost: US members $38; Canada members $45; all other members $50; non-members $60. CD: Alt members $15; Non-members $25.

War Ballots: Military Voting by Mail from the Civil War to WWII

by Russ Carter

Covers military voting in 1813 thru the Civil War, Spanish-American War, World War One and World War Two.

It is spiral bound with a clear plastic cover (262 pages w/315 illustrations, 9 charts, 2 identification guides.

Cost: US members $20; Canadian members $35; Mexico, $40; overseas members $45; non-members $55, CD: All members $10; Non-members $20.

WORLD WAR ONE

AEF in the BEF

by Jim Boyden

Spiral bound (400 pages w/ 150 illustrations).

Cost: US members $35; overseas members $40; non-members, $55.00. CD: All members, $15. Non-members, $25.

US Air Service in Britain, WWI

by Jim Boyden

Comb bound (96 pages with illustrations).

Cost:: US members $25; overseas members $35; non-members $45. CD; All members $10. Non-members: $20.

Postal History of the AEF 1917-1923

by Theo Van Dam

Spiral bound w/hard, clear plastic cover, (274 pages).

Cost:: Members price: US $25; Canada $35; Mexico $45; overseas members $45. Non-members: US $50. CD: All members: $15. Overseas: $35.

Update I Postal History of the AEF

Spiral bound w/hard, clear plastic cover, (66 pages).

Cost:: Members price: US $10; Canada $15; Mexico $20; all other members, $30. Non- members $35. CD: $10. members; Non-members $20.

Update II Postal History of the AEF

Spiral bound w/hard plastic cover, (168 pages).

Cost:: Members price: US $15; Canadian and Mexican members $20; all others $30. Non-members: $40. CD: All members $40, Non-members $20.

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WORLD WAR TWO

(Below are the so-called “APO Books”)

  1. Numbered Army and Air Force Post Office Locations, 7 Edition, Volume 1

by Russ Carter.

This is the first volume of a three part series covers the Base Post Offices, Postal Regulating Stations and Regular Army Post Offices open from 1941-1965. It deals with the locations of US APOs from World War Two until the start of the Military ZIP codes in 1965.

It is loose leaf, 3 hole punch (321 pages, 23 illustration and 7 charts).

Cost: US & Canadian members $25; all other members $40; Non-members US and Canada $50; overseas: $60. CD: All members $10; Non-members $20.

  1. Numbered Army and Air Force Post Office Locations, 7 Edition, Volume 2

by Russ Carter.

It is loose leaf and 3 hole punch (417 pages w/17 illustrations, 9 documents and 1 chart).

Cost: US members $40; Canadian, Mexican members $45; overseas members $50; non-members $70.00. CD: $10 Members; Non-members: $20.

  1. Numbered Navy and Marine Corps Post Offices, 7 Edition. Volume 3

by Russ Carter

The is loose leaf, 3 hole punch, 287 pages with 37 illustrations.

Cost: US members $28; members in Canada and Mexico $35; overseas members $45: US and overseas non-members $60. CD: All members $10; Non-members $20.

*Index of Bulletin Articles 1937- 2004* Cost: Members US $5; Canada, Mexico $8.50; all others $8. Non-members: $12, *Bulletin Back Issues* Cost: Members US $4; all other members $8; Non-members: $12. *Article Photocopies* Cost: Members US $1.25 for one article; $5 for up to 15 pages plus $.25 per page

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from Winter 2006 Bulletin

President’s Message

by Al Kugel

It has been my pleasure to serve the Society as a Director and then as Vice-President for some considerable period of years under such dedicated leaders as Jesse Boehret, Jim Boyden and Myron Fox. However, I have to say that I am truly honored by the chance to serve as President of the MPHS for 2006 and 2007.

It is my earnest hope that all of the members will have an interesting and pleasurable experience as they pursue this hobby of ours during the next two years.

Fortunately, Myron will be on the Board as Immediate Past President and Jim has been elected to a regular directorship, so their knowledge and experience will still be readily available. In my opinion, the other officers and directors make up avery capable and experienced team to best serve the interests of the membership. Of course, this is my “maiden voyage” at writing the quarterly President’s comments for the Bulletin, so I can only say that, along with our dedicated Editor, Dave Kent, we wiil try to provide you with interesting reading in the period ahead.

NOTE:

Certainly, one of the big events of 2005 for the MPHS was the creation of a special room in the American Philatelic Center in Bellefonte, Pa. honoring American military veterans of all wars and all services, which was dedicated last November.

The initial proposal was made by our life member, Major Ted Bahry, who spearheaded the campaign to raise the necessary funds for the project. The effort was so successful that the APRL ended up with donations totaling about $37,500 in a campaign that took less than a year.

The new facility has been named ‘“‘Gung Ho Room: Honoring Our Military Veterans” and contains a plaque listing all contributors of $100 or more. Many thanks to everyone who participated, including our friends at the Universal Ship Cancellation Society.

NOTE:

We also made considerable progress this past year in making available military-related research publications, including those covering the Numbered Navy and Marine Corps Locations in World War II and the War Ballot study by Russ Carter.

The current program is focused on work by Norm Gruenzner on mail from the crewmembers on PT Boats. It is my hope that it will sometime be possible to consider a new edition of the Postal History of the AEF, in view of the many new discoveries since the last version was published in 1990, I recognize, however, that such a project would require an editor with the time, perseverance and personal dedication of the late Theo. Van Dam, not easily found. Any volunteers?

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From Summer 2005 Bulletin

Numbered Army & Air Force Post Office Locations is the Society’s primary reference to APOs used by American forces abroad.

Three volumes of this indispensable reference (7th Edition), edited by Russ Carter, are now available. Volume I covers BPOs, PRSs and Regular APOs from 1941 to 1964 in 321 pages, while Volume II covers Temporary APOs from 1941 to 1947 with 417 pages.

Volume III is “Numbered Navy & Marine Corps Post Office Locations,” which covers the period from 1943 to 1980. 288 pages.

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From Spring 2005 Bulletin

Military Ballots released

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From Winter 2004 Bulletin

Book review of vol 3

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From Spring 2004 Bulletin

NOTICE:

For many years published listings of World War II Army Post Offices (APOs) neglected the early operation of these offices while in the United States, or at best relegated those details to an appendix.

Starting with the Sixth Edition of the directory (now formalized as Numbered Army and Air Force Post Office Locations), published by this organization, authors George Cosentini and Norm Gruenzner extended the listings to include such information.

Russ Carter, in editing the Seventh Edition, has considerably expanded on this practice. Unfortunately, the primary documentation we depend upon for studies of military post offices — covers — are quite rare from stateside operations, especially from the Army maneuvers that took place in 1939-1941 before the United States formally entered World War II

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From Spring 2003 Bulletin

Past President Jim Boyden announced the availability of his new Society-sponsored book, U.S. Air Service in the British Isles 1917-1919,

Vol III on Navy & Marine Corps should go to printing this year followed by the long-awaited PT-Boat book.

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From Fall 2003 Bulletin

The big news, however, is that Russ Carter has finished the latest volume in his indefatigable research into the military post offices of World War II and later in the National Archives. This volume, the third in the series, studies the numbered post offices used by the Navy and Marine Corps. Although these numbers began as World War II opened, the last of them did not disappear until 1980, when the Military Postal Service Agency assumed responsibility for all military post offices. As with his earlier studies of military post offices, this volume greatly expands the scope of what had been published previously.

followed by a full-page description:

Numbered Navy and Marine Corps Post Offices

The Numbered Post Office codes used by the Navy, Coast Guard, and Marine Corps were an attempt to hide the location or unit type. This volume is the culmination of several years’ research in the National Archives and U.S. Postal Service library to try to fill in gaps of the previous editions.

While there are a good number of newly discovered Post Office mumbers, the real contribution of this edition is the thousands of added locations to Branch locations.

For example, Branch 17013 in the previous edition simply listed it with an introduction to the Navy and Marine Corps postal coded numbering systems. It is followed with a detailed listing of Navy Post Office numbers, then by the Branch numbers used by the Navy, Coast Guard, and Marine Corps and finally a listing of the Marine Corps Unit numbers that was used early in WW II Each section contains illustrations of both common covers and a few as being with Mobile Construction Battalion 1 and serving at several locations with no dates, while this edition list about 100 locations with dates.

Another major upgrade is Marine Corps numbers used in 1942-43. There are hundreds of locations added, making this section four times the size of the previous edition.

An added feature of this edition is that each branch lists what kind of business it did, as a number of them were opened for the sole purpose of selling and cashing money orders, and did not conduct other types of postal business. Also, it has been discovered that some branches were actually stations and not branches as previously thought. These stations are now identified to help the collector.

Last but not least, the numbers and the countries in which they were used are included.

The book has 287 numbered pages with 37 illustrations. It is 8 1/2 by 11 inches, loose leaf and 3 hole punched.

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From Winter 2002 Bulletin

Winter 2002 has the announcement for vol 2:

The Military Postal History Society Presents:

Numbered Army & Air Force Post Office Locations 7th Edition, Volume 2: Temporary APOs, 1941-1947

by Russ Carter

Almost nothing in military cover collecting is as mysterious as those four- and five-digit APO numbers. There have been questions on what they were called, how they worked, who got them, and where they were or went. The previous edition of this book listed about 600 of these APOs, but that was little more than a listing from a couple of cover collections. So much new information has been gathered that a whole volume was required.

This volume is the culmination of several years’ research in the National Archives and lists more than 21,000 numbers. Most of these numbers list the date they were assigned and where they were going. The story begins with the first assignment in December 1941 to the last one recorded in April 1947. There are sample documents to show not only the source of the information but also how the system worked. Included, for example, is a document assigning a temporary APO to comedian Jack Benny.

The volume takes you through each feature of a temporary APO and tells who used them and why, how many people used them, where they were used, and so forth. Of particular interest is information on how to decipher a cover: what numbers were set aside for special purposes, and what the suffixes or letters and additional numbers meant. Along with this, one will find what it means when a cover is or is not censored, why Navy cancels are on some covers, and how to figure out where a cover was posted when there is only a killer cancel or no cancels.

The book has 417 numbered pages with 17 illustrations, nine documents, and one chart. It is 8 1/2 by 11 inches loose-leaf and 3-hole punched.

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From Summer 2002 Bulletin

Vol 2 is reviewed here

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From Summer 2001 Bulletin

Summer 2001 announcement:

NEW “APO” BOOK READY!

Numbered Army & Air Force Post Office Locations, Volume 1: BPOs, PRSs, & Regular Post Offices 1941-1964, by Russ Carter

The Seventh Edition of the Military Postal History Society’s listings of military post offices is now available. Due to the amount of new information since the last edition, what was once one book has been split into several volumes, This, the first of these volumes, deals only with the numbered permanent Army post offices from World War II until the start of the ZIP Code era in 1965.

Many corrections have been made in this edition. The large number of additions is the result of extensive research in the National Archives and the Center For Military History along with the input from Society members. Besides many new dates and locations, there are entries for APOs previously not known along with many previously unrecorded branches. Some examples:

The book opens with an introductory chapter on the history of the Army Postal System and how it worked with such things as listings of APOs used in domestic (U.S.) maneuvers, lists to help identify covers, and a description of the relationships between the parts of the Post Office Department and the Armny. A useful list of abbreviations is included. The introduction alone runs to 16 pages.

Next are chapters on the Base Post Offices and Postal Regulating Stations with their histories, workings, and location listings.

The main body of work, more than 240 pages, is the chapter on APOs with their listings. The level of detail on locations, and the sub-Unit listings, are the most comprehensive ever published on the subject.

The book concludes with a country index by APO number.

The book has 321 numbered pages with 23 illustrations and seven charts. It is 8 1/2 by 11 inches, loose leaf and 3-hole punched.

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From Winter 2000 Bulletin

Winter 2000 announcement:

[Note that this is the older APO list that was superceded by Russ’s 3 volume work listed above.

The older book was published in 1994.

Note that the “Murphy” book with additional APO’s was published in 1977.]

The APO Directory” (officially, “U.S. Numbered Military Post Offices: Assignments and Locations, 1941-1994") is still available.

Loose-leaf, 575+ pages, representing years of research. No serious collector of American war covers from World War II and later can afford to be without it.

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