Hand-Drawn Cartoon from U. S. Soldier in WW I -- This small hand-drawn cartoon was attached by makeshift glue to a soldier's letter that I had purchased. The letter was written in 1918 from France by an American soldier of the 101st Engineers.

This unit was part of the 26th Division, which took part in most of the major fighting in which Americans were involved in France.

This cartoon, more than any written words, conveys the great importance of mail from home during the War.

Logo for School of Military Aeronautics, Austin, Texas -- This image was scanned from a nicely engraved envelope imprint from the School of Military Aeronautics, located at the Unversity of Texas at Austin. The engraving appears on the flap on the reverse of the envelope. This item would have most likely been purchased by the soldier, rather than being provided free to him by a charity organization such as the YMCA.

The letter in the envelope was from a student going through the 12-week ground school at Austin. This is one of the nicest special envelopes that I've seen from an Army school. I fear that the scanner and computer have not done real justice to the original color of the engraving, which is a rich, bright, gold.

First World War U.S. Army Insignia -- First Page -- This is a scan from a book that I purchased as part of my study of the First World War. It is entitled Uncle Sam's Fact Book of the World War , published by the C. S. Hammond & Company, Inc., New York, 1918. This image contains the first page describing and illustrating Army rank and insignia. This information may be of use to the military collector, or those people wishing to identify soldiers and sailors from photographs.

First World War U.S. Army Insignia -- Second Page -- This is a scan from a book that I purchased as part of my study of the First World War. It is entitled Uncle Sam's Fact Book of the World War , published by the C. S. Hammond & Company, Inc., New York, 1918. This image contains the second page describing and illustrating Army rank and insignia. This information may be of use to the military collector, or those people wishing to identify soldiers and sailors from photographs.

First World War U.S. Navy Insignia -- First Page -- This is a scan from a book that I purchased as part of my study of the First World War. It is entitled Uncle Sam's Fact Book of the World War , published by the C. S. Hammond & Company, Inc., New York, 1918. This image contains the first page describing and illustrating Navy rank and insignia. This information may be of use to the military collector, or those people wishing to identify soldiers and sailors from photographs.

First World War U.S. Navy Insignia -- Second Page -- This is a scan from a book that I purchased as part of my study of the First World War. It is entitled Uncle Sam's Fact Book of the World War , published by the C. S. Hammond & Company, Inc., New York, 1918. This image contains the second page describing and illustrating Navy rank and insignia. This information may be of use to the military collector, or those people wishing to identify soldiers and sailors from photographs.

Photo of the U. S. 17th Field Artillery Band in Europe, First World War -- This photograph was taken in 1918 of the fellows in a band that was part of the U. S. Army 17th Field Artillery, while they were stationed in France. This artillery group was a unit of the Regular Army (unlike later units raised from the draft and the National Guard). They were sent to France as part of the 2nd Division in December, 1917. It's a fascinating experience to look into the past, and study the faces and uniforms of these young men.

They appear to have quite a collection of instruments, not really typical of a standard marching band. However, most of the unit bands were made up of soldiers with some musical talent, using the instruments they had available to them.

The writing at the top left of the photograph appears to read: Compliments from Bro. Block "Over There". The large "X" written in over the tuba player probably indicates Mr. Block.

At the bottom left is a written plaque stating that the band director is Carl Dillon. I expect that he is the stern fellow in the front center holding the baton.

1918 Christmas Seal on Postcard, Tied by Handstamp Cancellation -- The above item was used on December 24, 1918 from a town in Minnesota. The Christmas seal itself has a particularly striking design, based on the Statue of Liberty, undoubtedly part of the Victory celebration of the end of the First World War. By the end of the War, Americans were very familiar with the Red Cross, since they had been inundated by fund-raising drives, and the activities of many Red Cross volunteers on the home-front.

Note that the sender put the stamp and the seal in the upper left portion of the card, which is against Post Office rules.

Typical YMCA Envelope Given to Troops -- This cover is from Camp Custer, Michigan, during the training period of the First World War. It is a typical YMCA envelope, as given out to the troops to write home. Millions of these envelopes were provided by the "Y" and mailed.

The interesting aspect to this cover is the pair of cancellations. Apparently, the envelope was mis-fed into the Universal cancelling machine used at Camp Custer, and the machine missed cancelling the stamp. Someone noticed, and hand-cancelled the cover later with the duplex handstamp of Camp Custer. Handstamp examples are not common from the training camp branches during the War, so this "error" was a fortunate event for this collector.

Note that not every letter from camp used YMCA stationery, which is part of the interesting aspects of collecting material from this era.

Odd Fellows Cover from Camp Devens -- This cover is from Camp Devens, Massachusetts, during the training period of the First World War. However, this (and 2 other items) is the only I have seen from the Odd Fellows. We do know that various types of envelopes were provided to the soldiers in the training camps in the United States by charity or religious organizations.

A more typical free envelope used by a soldier would be one provided by the YMCA such as this item from Camp Custer, Michigan, or the Knights of Columbus. As usual, I solicit all comments or ideas you may have about this cover.

10th Field Artillery Group at Douglas, Arizona -- This is a scan of a real photo postcard. It shows soldiers of the 10th Field Artillery while they were stationed at Douglas, Arizona in the First World War. The Army states that they were at this camp from June 1917 to March 1918. From here, they went over to France. The Army reference indicates that they took part in all of the major battles in which U. S. troops were involved, from the summer of 1918 to the Armistice.

The fellows are clowning around while waiting for mess call. This is a particularly clear, sharp, photograph. You can see all of the faces when viewing the larger size. Photographs like this are what fascinate me about the First World War era. Take a good look at each face, each young man, full of hope, bravado, youth. The past isn't really so different from today, after all.

Rank Card (front) -- This is one side of a card that I bought showing information about the U.S. military in the First World War. It contains information showing ranks, insignia, and pay. This card was probably sold to the general public.

Rank Card (back) -- This is one side of a card that I bought showing information about the U.S. military in the First World War. It contains information showing ranks, insignia, and pay. This card was probably sold to the general public.

Camp Funston Soldiers Sending Civilian Clothes Back Home -- This real-photo picture postcard is one of the few items of evidence I have that shows the presence of the American Express Company at the military camps during the First World War. In this case, the soldiers are posing in front of the American Express building near the railway at Camp Funston, Kansas. They are sending their civilian clothes back home, after being issued their uniforms.

You can see the variety of packaging they are sending, from simple bundles of clothes to suitcases full of 'civies'.

Both American Express and the Railway Express companies provided services to the soldiers, along with the U.S. Post Office.

Airplane-Themed Stationery from Love Field, Texas -- This is a scan of the letterhead from a letter enclosed in one of the covers I own. The soldier who wrote the letter was stationed at Love Field, Dallas, Texas during the First World War. Someone cashed in on the soldiers' need for writing materials, and printed this lovely stationery illustrating a "typical" biplane, with an inscription specifically for Love Field.

U.S.S. Maui, First World War Troopship -- This real photo picture postcard shows the U.S.S. Maui, a troopship used during the First World War by the United States. The name of the ship is handwritten on the photographic negative, along with the line: "Ship That Brought Us Home".

It is probable that these postcards were sold to returning troops by an enterprising photographer. I have seen picture postcards, such as this one, as well as full-size photographs of the ships. The postcards are not often seen used, as they appear to have been purchased as souvenirs.

This ship was attached to the U. S. fleet from the Matson Navigation Company, the primary shipping company serving the Hawaiian Islands, and went into service as a troopship in March 1918. With a displacement of 17,500 tons, she could carry nearly 3,500 soldiers. During the War period, she transported about 11,000 troops to Europe, and after the Armistice, carried about 25,000 troops back from Europe.

The Maui was returned to the Matson Navigation Company in August 1919.

For more information, see my webpage on the troopships.

Postcard Cancelled at Army City, Kansas in 1918 -- Camp Funston, along with Fort Riley, were large Army camps in Kansas, located near Junction City. The number of troops was so large, and the locality so remote, that a group of businesses were allowed to establish at the boundaries of the camp. This area was called 'Army City' and it had a Post Office. This postcard scan is not very good, but images of the hand cancel of this Post Office are very uncommon.

Before I saw these images, the only evidence I had of Army City was a studio photo of a soldier that bore a notation that it was taken in this 'town'.

Patriotic Postcard with Multi-Star Mother -- Here is an image from a postcard I have. The artwork reminds one of Norman Rockwell, but the signature on the card appears to be Charles A. Maclelitan. The image on the postcard is supposed to be a reprint from the cover of Successful Farming magazine April 1918 issue. The card also indicates that this magazine was published in Des Moines, Iowa.

The banner with the single star was a sign that the house had a son in the military. In this case, there are two stars. The illustration shows framed pictures of a soldier and a sailor. The title refers to the patriotic actions of the three: mother, and two sons.

The star banner appeared in many forms as a patriotic image during the war. For instance, it was printed as a seal, so that it could be affixed to letters from parents of military men.

Parcel Post Stamp Used in First World War Era -- This cover is very interesting to me, because my primary collecting interest these days is First World War postal history.

Parcel Post stamps were legal to use on first class letters, starting July 1, 1913. I've noticed that, by 1914, first class usages seem to be fewer. After 1914, Parcel Post usages are quite uncommon. That makes this 1917 usage uncommon indeed.

What may have caused this 'old' stamp to be used is that the first class letter rate was raised in early November, 1917, by one cent as a tax to pay for the United States' involvement in the First World War. Many people had to scramble to make up the rate, and there was a shortage of 3 cent stamps for a while.

Soldiers in the large Army camps in the US had a more difficult time, since they had little money, and needed to write to their families and sweethearts. I believe that the postal drawers were combed for applicable postage, and this activity has revealed an interesting variety of "old" stamp usages that show up from time to time in the US camp postal history that I collect.

This cover is cancelled by the Universal machine of the Custer Branch of Battle Creek, Michigan. Camp Custer was one of the large Army training camps open during WW I. It is dated November 25, 1917, about 3 weeks after the new postal rate went into effect.

Great Lakes Old Stamp Usage -- This cover was mailed from the Great Lakes Naval Training Station in Illinois during the First World War. I have several such items in my collection. The interesting point about this cover is the use of an old pre-war stamp.

I have several examples of the use of older issues of the Washington-Franklin stamps on covers from soldiers and sailors during the War. With the increase in postal rates on November 3, 1917, there was quite a scramble to find sufficient stamps of the new values. I have seen stamp issues from as early as 1913 used on letters mailed by troops in 1918.

This cover, however, has the earliest stamp I've ever seen from this era. This stamp was issued in 1903, and was replaced by the Washington-Franklin issues in 1908-1909! Considering the speed at which the Post Office changed its stamp issues (especially the perforations and paper) in the 1910's, it is fascinating that an older stamp would still be around to pay the postage.

Two other items of note regarding this cover:

(1) It is overpaid by one cent. The first class rate was three cents at that time.

(2) The cover shows the cornercard of the Lutheran Brotherhood, a religious/welfare organization active in only a few camps at that time. Illustrated covers from this organization are rather uncommon. I've seen their covers used primarily at Great Lakes, Illinois, and Camp Dodge, Iowa.

Photo of Students at Ground School, Urbana, Illinois -- This is a scan of a real photo postcard. It shows the students at the U.S. School of Military Aeronautics at the University of Illinois, Urbana, Illinois. These soldiers were attending a ground school. If they passed, they went on to actual flying school. Another postcard written from this facility says that there were just short of 1,000 students there.

Photographs like this are what fascinate me about the First World War era. Take a good look at each face, each young man, full of hope, bravado, youth. One fellow's image is circled, and their name written on the card.