Military

Topical Reference Page
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Hometowns Honor Their Returning Veterans stamp, 1995

Find resources related to the military on the National Postal Museum's website.

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Absentee Voting in the Civil War: Ohio Cover
Object Spotlight

Some of the eligible voters from Highland County, Ohio were not at home for the state election in October 1864. Service with the Union army had brought them to Atlanta, Georgia. However, with a recent provision enacted by the Ohio legislature, they were able to vote absentee. This pre-printed envelope contained a tally sheet of votes from the soldiers of Highland County at the Field Hospital 2nd Division 23rd Army Corps.

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Naval aviation stamp, 1961
Stamps Take Flight - Air Stamps–Military Aviation: Air Force, Army, Navy & Marine Corps
Exhibition
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1-cent Army Washington and Nathanael Greene single
About U.S. Stamps - Army & Navy Issue
Exhibition
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3-cent Army single
About U.S. Stamps - Army Issue
Exhibition
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a soldier leaning on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial wall
Art of the Stamp - Celebrate The Century: The 1980s Vietnam Veterans Memorial
Exhibition
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Illustration of a soldier looking through binoculars and two helicopters in the sky
Art of the Stamp - Celebrate The Century: The 1990s Gulf War
Exhibition
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'Christmas Overseas 1918' postcard with an illustration of several troops looking through packages
Christmas 1918
Exhibition

Over two million American military service men and women were stationed in Europe when the declaration of Armistice on November 11, 1918 effectively ended World War I. The deployed service personnel of the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) transitioned from combat readiness, advanced to occupy Germany and began preparations to demobilize. Many, who had hoped to return home to the United States by Christmas 1918 could not, but with the help of the Red Cross, military and postal officials already had plans to deliver Christmas by mail.

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3-cent Coast Guard single
About U.S. Stamps - Coast Guard Issue
Exhibition
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3-cent Grand Army of the Republic single
About U.S. Stamps - G.A.R. Issue
Exhibition
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13 cent Surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown, 1976
Alexander Hamilton - Hamilton the Soldier
Exhibition
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An Army nurse working at a desk
In Her Words
February 2, 2018 - September 5, 2018
Exhibition

World War I was a watershed for global political, economic, and social change, and for women’s rights and labor in the United States. During the war, women officially served in and alongside the military in unprecedented numbers and in ways that shaped the professionalization of women’s work. Through the letters and artifacts of four women, visitors can explore unique, personal perspectives on life, duty, and service during the war.

Image: Army nurse, Camp Sherman, Ohio, 1918
Grace (Mechlin) Sparling Collection, Gift of Lillian S. Gillhouse, Women’s Memorial Foundation Collection

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A corporal distributes mail from her tiny post office in Afghanistan
Mail Call
November 10, 2011 - Permanent
Exhibition

Soldiers, sailors, marines, and airmen anxiously awaiting mail delivery is a familiar scene from movies, newsreels, and documentary photographs. Mail call is the moment when the frontline and home front connect. This exhibition tells the history of military mail from the American Revolution to 2010: How does this mail reach its destination? What roles does it play? Why does it influence morale? The exhibition explores the great lengths taken to set up and operate postal services under extraordinary circumstances. It also features letters that reveal the expressions, emotions, and events of the time. On the battlefront and at home, mail provides a vital communication link between military service personnel, their communities, and their loved ones.

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Related Blogs

Photograph of 2 pages of collectors album with close up images of folded up letters adorned with elaborate, handwritten cursive
The Henry A. Meyer Collection of French Revolution and Napoleonic Covers
12.22.2021

Organized as a series of story boards recounting the history of the French Revolution and Napoleonic era, the 14 volume Henry A. Meyer collection offers a spellbinding account of historical events alongside an astonishing collection of letters and covers that bring these events to life. A recent condition survey and repair project highlighted the value of this extraordinary collection and its potential for continued scholarly research. Learn more about the collection and its significance, the recent work done to stabilize the collection, and the potential future projects related to digitization and research.
 

Learn more About The Henry A. Meyer Collection of French Revolution and Napoleonic Covers

Image of paper envelope adorned with an illustration of a man in a lifejacket gazing out to a blue sea; his back is turned away
Pictures from the Front: The Illustrated Covers of Jack Fogarty
10.08.2021

Corporal Jack Fogarty found a way to satiate his artistic inclination throughout his deployment during WWII by illustrating the envelopes of mail he sent back to the states. Specifically, these adorned letters were sent to the wife of his good buddy, John MacDonald, with whom he served in the same unit. McDonald was the unit’s censor and many of the envelopes bear his markings. Learn more about this curious triangle and the unique collection of covers that became part of the postal museum’s collection.

Learn more About Pictures from the Front: The Illustrated Covers of Jack Fogarty

Photo on a postcard of Saint-Malo, France
Write that Letter Home, Part III: Senders, Recipients, and the Content of World War I Correspondence
08.07.2019

The National Postal Museum is pleased to share part one of a three-part blog series by historian and philatelic genealogist James R. Miller.

Learn more About Write that Letter Home, Part III: Senders, Recipients, and the Content of World War I Correspondence

Photo on postcard of Le Mans, France
Write that Letter Home, Part II: Senders, Recipients, and the Content of World War I Correspondence
08.06.2019

The National Postal Museum is pleased to share part one of a three-part blog series by historian and philatelic genealogist James R. Miller.

Learn more About Write that Letter Home, Part II: Senders, Recipients, and the Content of World War I Correspondence

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