USS Maryland Parcel Fragment

This parcel fragment mailed from the USS Maryland was, like a similar fragment mailed from the USS Marblehead nearly two years earlier, addressed to the Bureau of Navigation at the Navy Department in Washington, D.C.

In addition to a single copy of the 14¢ American Indian stamp, the fragment bears a 1¢ Benjamin Franklin stamp from the same series. Each stamp received a USS Maryland postmark dated January 23, 1929. The Maryland during the previous year had participated in President-Elect Herbert Hoover’s goodwill tour of Latin America.¹

Front of parcel fragment bearing 1-cent Benjamin Franklin stamp and 14-cent American Indian stamp — 14¢ American Indian parcel fragment mailed from USS *Maryland*

Reverse of parcel fragment — 14¢ American Indian parcel fragment mailed from USS *Maryland* (reverse)

Although the fragment bears no markings indicating why postage would have been applied since a typed penalty statement is present, the 15¢ total pays the basic registration rate in effect at the time.²

The USS Maryland survived two direct bomb hits during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.³ After undergoing repairs, the battleship was involved in multiple operations in the Pacific, suffering damage from enemy attacks on several occasions prior to the end of World War II.

Next: FAM 5 cover (flown by Charles Lindbergh)

References

USS Maryland (BB 46). Naval History and Heritage Command. Accessed 5 July 2020.
Beecher, Henry W., and Anthony S. Wawrukiewicz. U.S. Domestic Postal Rates, 1872–2011. 3rd ed. Bellefonte, Pennsylvania: American Philatelic Society, 2011.
USS Maryland (BB 46). Military Factory. 1 Nov. 2018. Accessed 5 July 2020.

Published 2020-07-05 Last updated 2020-07-14