Correspondence

Victory Mail, also known as V Mail, was the product of a newly adopted method for mail processing and delivery.  In 1942, V Mail, originally from England, became an alternative method to first class postal services.  Microfilmed reproductions were created from the original letters written on a particular form (seen here as the red and white two-sided document) which was available at post offices and other corner stores.  After censor approval, the microfilms were sent to receiving stations near the addressee and there the letters were printed onto 5" x 4" photographic paper.  At one-quarter of the original size, these new copies were then delivered to the addressee.

This card was mailed to Mr. Persons, of the Bank of Quantico, in Quantico, Virginia. Quantico was, and still is, a marine corps training center located in northern Virginia. Lieutenant Ralph K. Lawson, of the 11th Regiment of the United States Marine Corps, and the ship he was aboard had safely arrived to their overseas destination. Notices, like this one here, were sent to thousands of families in the United States to reassure them of their loved ones wellbeing.

This silk scarf, from Japan, was given to Mary J. Jones by her brother Paul Jacoby, who served in World War II.  Mr. Jacoby was one of thousands of military personnel who sent postcards, letters, and gifts home to family and friends.  This silk scarf has two images, both front pages of different newspapers read by servicemen in the Pacific: the Sunday, September 2, 1945 edition of the Pacific Stars and Stripes and the October 25, 1945 edition of The Mainichi.  The publications of these works were completed within two months of the August atomic bombings of Japanese cities Hiroshima and Nagasaki, but no mention is made of these events.  The focus is on General MacArthur and the future of the United States.