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

[C.Whitaker]

What the wrote instead of a stamp was, FREE.
73  Clete  WB2CPN
BTDT  (Been There, Done That)
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

On 4/2/2013 3:00 PM, Thomas Adams 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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