Height x Width: 5 5/16 x 4 1/4 in. (13.49 x 10.8 cm)
Type:
Covers & Associated Letters
Place of Destination:
Connecticut
Place of Origin:
ITALY (republic)
Place:
United States of America
Date:
April 23, 1944
Description:
This V-Mail facsimile letter was sent by Sergeant Gene Journalist at APO 394 (this APO was located in Naples, Italy as of letter's date April 23, 1944) to “Brothers” at the Norton Fire Department in Connecticut.
Sergeant Journalist recounts his witnessing of the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in a message to his buddies at the hometown fire department
The facsimile, the military’s term for the V-Mail photographic print produced from enlargement of 16 mm microfilm, measured one-quarter the size of the original letter sheet. Depending on the equipment and staffing available at the V-Mail stations around the globe, the facsimiles were either prepared by John Dickinson & Co. machinery (also used for the British Airgraph service) or individually cut, folded, inserted into envelopes, and sealed by hand.
