The globe-independent. (Hagerstown, Md.) 1943-19??, 1943-09-09
Get Overseas
Parcels Ready Now

still warm.
Mailing of gifts for Army and
Navy personnel overseas must begin
by September Is, if many of the
men and women in our armed ser
vices are not to be disappointed; and
September Is is less than month
away. Here are the mailing regula-
tons, furnished by the Post Office
Department Information Service.
Christmas gifts may be mailed by
parcel post to Army men and wo-
men overseas only between Septem-
Der Is and October IS. After the
latter date, such parcels may not be
mailed unless a written request
from the soldier for the article is
presented with each parcel. No sol
der should have to ASK for a
Christmas gift; so gifts must be
mailed on time. The Navy also
urges that gifts be mailed between
lSeptember Is and October IS.
Reasons for the early mailing
Hates are: The vast distances that
the parcels must travel to reach our
men at war fronts and stations the
world over; frequent transfers of
thousands of men from one location
to another, which means forwarding
of the mail and consumes additional
time; the necessity for giving pref
erence to reinforcements, arms, mu-
nitions, medicine and food in allot-
ment of shipping space, which often
means that the shipments of gifts
must wait. And it is most urgent
that gifts be delivered to the men
IN TIME FOR CHRISTMAS, to keep
their spirit high.
The only way to insure against
disappointment for the fighting men
is to buy at once and mail early
mail your gifts as soon as possible
after the September Is starting date.
Those who have relatives or
friends in the service should remem-
Der that we have fighting men in
Alaska, Greenland, Iceland, Eng
land, Sicily, far-separated regions of
Africa, the Near Eastern countries,
Australia, many of the South Pacific
islands, India, China, South Amer
lea, and other areas.
Weeks are required for a ship to
reach many of these stations. There
can be no assurance, of course, that
the first ship sailing for any of these
locations will have space available
to carry Christmas parcels. Gifts
may have to wait until vitality need
ed supplies and equipment have
been shipped, to assure victory and
to save the lives of our men. If the
parcels are not mailed early, that
delay may prove to be just enough
to prevent their arrival by Christ
mas day, with consequent disap-
pointment to the men who are offer
ing their lives for their country and
ours.
Mail of all kinds is vital to the
spirit of fighting men. Every officer
who has inspected our Army and
Navy postal facilities overseas has
reported that thousands of fighting
men disregard mess call when it
conflicts with mail call, and get their
letters first. Officers at our large
military and naval stations report
that the spirit and efficiency of their
men receive distinct lift when mail
is distributed, and that a delay in
mail service caused a decided de-
cline in spirit with consequent let
down in efficiency.
A disconsolate soldier or sailor
who thinks he has been forgotten at
Christmas obviously is not at his
best. So the gifts MUST be mailed
on time so that they can arrive on
time
Rules for Christmas mailings to
the fighting forces overseas were
made public in June for the guild
ance of early shoppers. They in
clude:
The parcel must not exceed five
pounds, and must not be more
than Is inches in length or sc
inches in length and girth COM
bined. It should be marked
Christmas parcel so that it may
: be given special attention to as
sure its arrival before December
Is.
Not more than one parcel may
be mailed in any one week to the
same member of the armed force:
by or in behalf of the same mailer
The parcel must be well ant
strongly packed, in container o
metal, wood, strong fiber board