![]() ![]() This slack in mail and moral was picked up by “Any Service M ember” mail.ĭuring the Gulf War, “Any Service Member” mail was a big part of our incoming mail deliveries. Sometimes, a mail call would pass and the Sailor may have not received anything or maybe there really wasn’t anyone to write to a particular Sailor or Marine. Nothing can replace the moral boosting sounds of mail call while serving so far from home. Next to “Moored, Shift Colors!” and “Liberty, Liberty…” “Mail Call” was the most beloved word passed. The PC would also take in outgoing mail, cancel the postage and sort it for outb ound distribution going to the S ailor ’ s friends and family or to pay the bills or taxes. He then will go to the post office to pick it up and return to the division to pass it out to the proper sailor. Each division has a person assigned to pick up the mail. Once this is done, the Officer of the Deck would be notified and he would have the word passed over the 1MC “Mail Call, all division Mail Petty Officers lay to the post office to pick up mail, now Mail Call”. The mail would then be sorted by the PCs for distribution, first by Department and then by Divisio n. The PC s on the ship would receive mail, which consisted of letters and packages, magazines etc. The sender only need to write “FREE” in place of the stamp and with his or her return address in the upper left hand corner, the letter would simply need to be dropped in the mail box and it would be on its way. While serving in a combat zone, mail from the service m ember was “Free”. Mail being sent to the ship, no matter where in the world it was only cost the same amount of postage as it did to send a lette r across town. Sometimes, Battleship WISCONSIN would be delivered mail for other ships along with her mail and then when that particular ship came along side for fuel, we could use the RAS system, or Replenishment At Sea system to send them their mail. When the ship was in the Persian Gulf, t he mail would be sent to th e naval base in Bahrain and from there to where the ship maybe via a delivery truck on the pier or the helicopter known as the “Desert Duck” if it was out in the ocean. From the FPO it was then routed to the proper area where the ship was at the present time. The FPO’ s were located on the east coast or west coast of the United States and t he B attleship WISCONSIN FPO was New York, New York. Mail in the Navy wa s addressed to the Sailor or Marine through their ship or service command via a FPO or Fleet Post Offic e. In today’s Navy the PC rate was combined with the SK or Store Keeper rate to make the Logistics Specialist (LS), today’s Navy postal carrier. Mail clerks or PC’s, Postal Clerk was the Navy Rate that was responsible for the mail. Lots and lots of paper mail and packages were sent through the US Postal service to keep family and sailors up to date with the hap penings at home and out to sea. ![]() Mail the “old fashioned” way was still used when the USS WISCONSIN (BB-64) was in service and the only way to keep in touch with loved ones was with what people call today “snail mail”, a letter sent through the US Postal Service. ![]()
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