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

[Thomas Adams]

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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