V-Mail from the war zone
V-Mail ("V" for Victory, of course) was used by US miitary personnel
and their families for exchanging letters during the Second World War. You
wrote your message on a one-page form rather like the "aerogrammes" that are
still available from the Post Office, put it in an envelope that allowed the
address to show through, and posted it like any letter. It was opened,
photographed, and the microfilm sent to the theater of war -- a system that
saved cargo space, made it feasible to use air transport for personal mail,
and preserved the original in case the aircraft were lost.
Usually officers were allowed to censor their own letters, but in this
case Glen Edwards's V-mail did go through a military censor, who duly blocked
out his references to "Italy" and "Italian".
At the receiving end, the microfilmed letter was printed like a photograph
on lightweight paper, put in another envelope, and delivered through regular
mail channels.
Question? Comment? Newsletter? Send
me an
email. Blue skies! -- Dan
Ford
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