2- 1918 & 2-1944 Soldier's Mail

Quote:
Despite its initial success within the first year, the Army Postal Service was perceived to be unsuitable for the task in hand. Several causes for tension between the Post Office Department and the military had arisen including the military's reluctance to disclose to the Post Office Department the exact location of troops and the difficulties faced by the Post Office Department in securing transport. Under these conditions the Post Office Department felt it could not provide the level of mail service to which it believed the troops were entitled. Consequently the War Department decided that the mail service for the American Expeditionary Forces should be completely militarized and so on the 9th of May 1918 the Military Postal Express Service was established by General Order No.72. It was the first postal system in the world to be created by an army and to be clearly distinguished from an established government postal system. Despite this historical significance, the systems put into place by its civilian predecessor remained largely the same, and several postal agents were recruited and commissioned as officers.

The Military Postal Express Service continued operations well into the delicate peace of post-war Europe, closing its last outpost on the 31st of January 1924.