[ARC5] [Milsurplus] Waaay OT: Coconut from the Mariannas in WW II

[bcarling at cfl.rr.com]

Love it.  When I grew up in England.  I remember people mailing a banana and a shoe with success!!


Thomas Adams <quixote2 at ix.netcom.com> wrote:

>That sort of thing is fairly common, really.
>
>When I was in college (1970s), at the local student bar there was a 
>coconut covered with stamps
>behind the bar, sent by an ex student who enlisted after graduation. 
>Even more humorous was a
>stamp indicating that the coconut had been inspected and passed by US
>Customs!
>
>We had a similar coconut in the fraternity house, sent by one of the 
>brothers who had long since
>graduated...  just stamps, an address, and a return address.
>
>Somehow, American GIs seem to go a bit nuts (no pun intended) when 
>they wind up on a tropical
>island where food falls off of the trees. Mailing some home strikes 
>them as a bit of a joke for the folks
>back home. I guess when you're bored, ANYTHING is funny.
>
>BTW...   I doubt that the coconut you have was sent during the war; 
>GIs in the field weren't required to
>attach postage to anything they sent home. Instead, in place of a 
>stamp, a lot of troops simply wrote
>SMRLH (Soldier's Mail, Rush Like Hell).
>
>
>Mr. T.  W9LBB
>
>
>
>
>At 13:33 02-04-13, J. Forster wrote:
>>I was just lent a coconut that is sort of 'trench art' from WWII or
>>shortly thereafter. I know little to nothing about it, but thought to
>ask
>>here.
>>
>>The coconut is missing all its hair and has a nutlike shell. It's
>actually
>>pretty big, like a US football about 10" in the long axis and 8" max
>OD.
>>The cross section is roughly triangular.
>>
>>On one surface is painted:
>>
>>From:
>>A.P. Houlihan Pfr (?)
>>49 USNCB Co. A-2
>>c/o Fleet PO
>>San Francisco
>>Calif.
>>
>>To:
>>Arthur P. Houlihan
>>10 Kendal Ave
>>Framingham
>>Mass
>>USA
>>
>>There are also four stamps pasted to the shell
>>
>>Green    Purple     Purple   Ivory
>>1 Cent   25 Cent    25 Cent  ?????
>>
>>------------------
>>
>>The second side is blank.
>>
>>------------------
>>
>>The third side has
>>
>>"Greetings from the Marianas" painted in an arc over a scene of an
>island
>>with several palm trees.
>>
>>Unfortunately, some parts of the surface layer and paint are missing.
>I
>>thought about trying to get a photo or two, but it is very low
>contrast.
>>
>>Can anyone provide further info on this curiosity?
>>
>>Best,
>>
>>-John
>>
>>===================
>>
>>
>>
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