WW II Postal history

[clif]

received this cover and letter from Listia the other day ... nice piece of Naval WW II history. Haven't managed to find out much about the Cowans yet ... Mrs. Harry G is Irene, and the son is Joseph H. ... too bad about the return address corner. Really wish I could find out about which ship he's on ... I really like the details in the letter about the movies he's seen ..

anyway here is the cover

[clif]

and here is the letter ... page 1

[clif]

and page 2

[clif]

here is some information about the USS Solar ... the ship he referenced that blew up

from wikipedia

"Destruction by accidental explosion, 1946
On 30 April 1946, Solar was berthed at Leonardo Pier I of the Naval Ammunition Depot Earle, New Jersey, to discharge ammunition. The operation went smoothly until, shortly after 11:30, one of the crewmen dropped a hedgehog charge. He was able to escape with relatively minor injuries, but three ensuing explosions blasted the ship near her number 2 upper handling rooms. Her number 2 gun was demolished and the bridge, main battery director, and mast were all blown aft and to starboard. Both sides of the ship were torn open, and her deck was a mass of flames. The order to abandon ship came after the second explosion and was carried out expeditiously. Nevertheless, the tragedy claimed the lives of 7 sailors and injured 125 others.
Salvage work on Solar was begun by 15:00, and her wrecked superstructure was cut off to prevent her capsizing. She was moved to New York, where she decommissioned on 21 May 1946. Solar was then stripped of all usable equipment, towed 100 nautical miles (200 km) to sea, and sunk on 9 June 1946, in 700 fathoms (1,300 m) of water. Her name was struck from the Navy List on 5 June 1946."

[clif]

and a picture of the destruction ...

from this site www.desausa.org/de_photo_library/uss_solar_de_221_5.htm

[Admin Bear]

Great find!! this is such an interesting aspect to our hobby. thank you for sharing.

[MikeC99]

@clif, thanks for sharing that great letter and details about the ship explosion.
Mike