World War I

Topical Reference Page
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Postcard showing machine gun practice, postmarked: Lawton, OK. Ft. Sill Branch, Dec. 3, 1917, 6 pm.

With millions of people deployed to the front, the number of letters, postcards, packages, and news exchanged rose substantially during World War I, 1914-1918. Social welfare organizations created opportunities, campaigns, and materials to encourage letter writing to sustain morale at home and at the front. Governments developed methods to control communication through censorship regulations and adapted logistical networks to move great quantities of mail.

Six men sorting mail in a large mail room
Systems at Work - 1917
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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Mail Call - Expanded Service
Exhibition
During World War I, the postal system experienced unprecedented growth. Between July 1, 1917 and June 30, 1918 the Post Office Department dispatched 35 million letters to the American Expeditionary Forces. MPES handstamp die (shown in reverse)
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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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American Red Cross photo postcard shows soldiers sending mail.
My Fellow Soldiers
April 6, 2017 - December 2, 2018
Exhibition

Through personal correspondence written on the frontlines and home front, this centennial exhibition uncovers the history of America’s involvement in World War I. The compelling selection of letters illuminates emotions and thoughts engendered by the war that brought America onto the world stage; raised complex questions about gender, race and ethnic relations; and ushered in the modern era. Included are previously unpublished letters by General John Pershing, the general who led the American Expeditionary Forces and a person who understood the power of the medium. In his postwar letter that begins “My fellow soldiers,” he recognized each individual under his command for bravery and service. My Fellow Soldiers: Letters from World War I was created by the Smithsonian’s National Postal Museum in collaboration with the Center for American War Letters at Chapman University.

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Special Passport for a Postal Employee
Object Spotlight

Like travelers today postal employee Charles P. Leary needed a passport to journey abroad during World War I. Unlike modern passports however it was granted for a specific purpose: to allow Leary to travel to France where the Post Office Department was establishing a service to support the deployment of US military personnel.

Image: Special Passport for Postal Agent Charles P. Leary

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Drawing of six soldiers carrying bayonets in the outskirts of a village
Art of the Stamp - Veterans World War I
Exhibition
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WAR with an illustration of a walking soldier with a gun
Alphabetilately - W is for War Issues
Exhibition
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War Letters: Lost and Found - World War I
Exhibition
On the battlefront and at home, letters provide a vital connection between military service members and their families, friends, and loved ones. Motivated by the extraordinary circumstances of war, letter writers often reveal the priorities of life through vivid, heartfelt words and sentiments. Image: American serviceman composes a letter, c. 1918. Courtesy U.S. Army Military History Institute
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American Red Cross postcard, 1919
About Philately - World War I (1914-1918)
Exhibition
World War I began with a desperate act of nationalist fervor that resounded throughout the...
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Letter Writing in America - World War I Letters
Research Article
The Great War dominated American minds and hearts, especially after the United States declared war on Germany on April 6, 1917. As American soldiers began to pour across the Atlantic to help the Allied cause, letter writing provided a crucial connection between these men and their families back in the states. Image: Letter mailed from Paris by an American private, 1918
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Related Blogs

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

Postcard illustration of soldiers running on a field
Write that Letter Home, Part I: Senders, Recipients, and the Content of World War I Correspondence
08.05.2019

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 I: Senders, Recipients, and the Content of World War I Correspondence

About 50 seated women posing for a photo
Join the Navy: Yeoman (F) Ruth (Woodworth) Creveling
07.20.2018

Eighteen-year-old Ruth Estelle Woodworth joined the US Navy on March 30, 1917, the same month the military opened enlistment to women for the first time. It was all possible because of an unintentional loophole in the Naval Reserve Act of 1916. The act authorized the enlistment of qualified “persons,” but did not specify any gender requirement for volunteers.

Learn more About Join the Navy: Yeoman (F) Ruth (Woodworth) Creveling

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Object Group

5m Symbol of Allied supervision of the Plebiscite stamp

World War I Stamps

The "Great War" forever changed the map of the world. Military occupations, postwar mandates, and plebiscites created numerous new governments. From the disintegration of the Russian, Ottoman, and Austro-Hungarian empires emerged newly-independent nations, while nationalist and irredentist movements took advantage of the chaos to claim sovereign territory.

Whatever their origins, and no matter how long- or short-lived these new governments were destined to be, they all announced their arrival by issuing postage stamps. Enjoy this selection of stamps related to World War I and its aftermath.

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Related Content

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World War I and Postal Traffic in British Colonies

Paper written by Richard Maisel for the 2008 Winton M. Blount Symposium.

Image: Title page of Empire Abstracts, Number 48

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Postal and Treasury Savings Stamp Systems: The War Years

Paper written by Harry K. Charles for the 2008 Winton M. Blount Symposium.

Image: War Savings Certificate stamps

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Food Will Win the War

“Food Will Win the War”: Motor Trucks and the Farm-to-Table Postal Delivery Program, 1917-1918
Paper written by Robert G. Cullen for the 2008 Winton M. Blount Symposium.

Image: Egg crate, c. 1920

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