My latest research project is the cover scanned below from my postal history collection. It was mailed from Manila, Philippine Islands to Springfield, Massachusetts, USA during the Philippine-American War while Americans occupied the Philippines Islands. The Philippine-American War was an armed conflict between the United States and the First Philippine Republic that lasted from February 4, 1899 to July 2, 1902. The Filipinos saw the conflict as a continuation of their struggle for independence that began in 1896 with the Philippine Revolution. The U.S. government regarded it as an insurrection after the First Philippine Republic rejected the terms of the Treaty of Paris under which the U.S. took possession of the Philippines from Spain at the end of the Spanish-American War. This is probably a solder's cover home, mailed in a YMCA envelope, but sadly no letter inside now. This was a brutal conflict, with many atrocities committed by both sides. Over 4200 Americans were killed, and thousands of Filipinos were slaughtered. For more details, if you dare to read it: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philippine%E2%80%93American_War
Also shown below is a picture of the Manilla YMCA from this time period, that came from an eBay auction of a postcard years ago. It is amazing what can be learned from researching one cover in your collection.
I have long had this cover (see below) posted from Fort Mills in the Philippines in 1916. Luckily, the cover contains a very long letter from a soldier stationed there. He had just returned to the base after spending a vacation in the US with his family in Iowa. In his letter he mentions the differences in the base from when he was first posted there in 1905. Also, when he returned to the base he had found that an 11 year old girl who lived across the street from him had been murdered and her body left on the front porch.
I have tried to find out more about this soldier and his family, but with little success.
Fort Mills was the site of the US Army defeat to the Japanese in World War II (Corregidor), and the site of our "return" and victory.
I have a bunch of Philippines covers in the Franklin collection. The above one is the first one I acquired, back in the 1970s. No contents. Note that it was a month in transit.
A card, probably from a soldier to a lady friend back home. Reverse side didn't have a message.
And some official mail with the OB overprint.
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