Bob Swanson's First World War Research

March 19, 2009

[Fort Bliss flag cancel]

My WW I Book Available in Multiple Formats
See Below for More Information

I have written a book that attempts to list every place in the United States and Territories where soldiers, sailors, or marines might have been stationed during the First World War. The reason for such a list is to provide source locations and checklists for postal history (letters and cards) from these military men. The book lists all fixed, land-based United States military camps and facilities that operated during the War period. There has long been a need for such a listing, as it was not known where military mail could have originated within the US.

The book's full title is: Domestic United States Military Facilities of the First World War

The book is now listed on Google Books, at this URL. There is no link on Google Books for ordering the book. Please visit that site and return here for ordering information. [Note that Google Books is a great way to search literature for specific information about the First World War (or any subject for that matter).]

Note My Current Situation

Please note that I no longer live on Maui, and receive mail and email somewhat inconsistently. It may take up to a month for you to receive a physical copy of the book when you order one. Note that I can now email the book sections, rather than creating a paper or CD copy. If the above is acceptable, I can take your order by mail or PayPal.

Prices

The book was first published in February of 2000. In printed form, the book is 380 pages in length, US 8 1/2" x 11" double sided looseleaf. ($40 US + $5 US shipping, request information for International Priority Mail). It is also available on CD-ROM or by email at $30 postpaid. The CD-ROM and email versions are compatible with nearly any machine or system in current use, including PC's running Windows and Linux, as well as MAC's. The book is stored in Adobe PDF format. Other Unix systems should be able to read it as well.

In email form, the book is made up of 29 PDF files, comprising 26 megabytes in total. The largest individual file is 6 megabytes. If you request this format, ensure that your inbox is large enough to receive all files. Also ensure that your email system allows an attachment as large as the 6 megabyte single largest file.

If you order the email form, you might benefit by having a Google Mail account. When you receive the files, you can leave them on your account, and then view the files any time you wish, online. (Of course, you will want to download the 29 files to your computer for more permanent storage.) It is free to sign up for Google Mail accounts.

You can now pay for this book with a charge card, using PayPal.

My e-mail address registered with PayPal is, in English:

rds <at> swansongrp <dot> com

[Replace words with characters where appropriate]

Unique features of the book include:

· Many illustrations of cancels and covers

· Extensive indexes to assist searching for specific military bases

· Additional background information covering both the War and its military postal history

· War-era listing of U.S. military abbreviations

· Listings ordered by state to assist both state and local postal history collectors

· CD-ROM and email purchasers get additional color illustrations not present in the printed copy

Send check or money order to:

Robert Swanson
2040 W. Main St., #210-2016
Rapid City SD 57702
USA

You can contact me at the e-mail address listed above. Due to spam problems, I displayed the address in simple English.

The computer readable (CD-ROM, email, or floppy disk) versions of the book are stored in Adobe Acrobat (PDF) format, as used in the example pages listed here. I have observed that paper just cannot show the images as well as the computer screen. Owners of the electronic copies of the book are allowed to make copies for personal use, including the printing of the PDF file contents as paper copies. Having the computer-based version of the book on a laptop machine, for instance, could be very helpful when visiting a stamp show, or poring over a dealer's stock.

An early draft of the New York chapter was published serially in several issues of La Posta early in 1997. Here is a sample draft page from the California chapter of the book [78K Adobe PDF]. (Need the free Adobe PDF viewer? Try Here... or try here...)

No postal history book is complete without illustrations, so I have several images on this website of WW I covers and collateral, as well as examples of war-rate postal history. I have also started to post photographs and cover images on Flickr. Please visit that site for many color illustrations of First World War items.

I have also done general research on the dates of usage for machine cancels (and some handstamps) for all known camps in the US. My research on the American Flag cancellations has been published in Machine Cancel Forum. This website has a copy of the most recent flag cancel update [19K Adobe PDF], (See previous paragraphs for a link to the free Adobe PDF viewer), and may appear in print in the future. I have also gathered dates of usage for Universal machines [111K Adobe PDF], from the camps. [The free Adobe PDF viewer is available near the top of this page.]

I maintain a webpages about the troopship picture postcards, including the Jewish Welfare Board set, at this site. This list was first gathered by postcard collectors, and I have been merging other collectors' lists and keeping it all up to date, as more information comes in.

If you have any First World War postal history, I would like to hear from you. Please use our Contact Information Page to do so.

Examples of Covers and Cancellations

A cover from Camp Devens (Mass)

A cover from the Aviation Branch,
Montgomery, Alabama

[American Flag] (5k GIF)
Fort Bliss, Tex., A-14 (die 1)
(American Flag Cancellation)

[American Flag] (4k GIF)
Fort Bliss, Tex., A-14 (die 2)
(American Flag Cancellation)

[Universal Dial] (3k GIF)
San Diego, Cal., Kearney Branch
(die 1) (Universal Cancellation)

Some On-Line Military History References

You can see many very nice
panoramic photographs of WW I
military subjects (among others) at the
Library of Congress site.

First World War on the Web

Scott's Official History of the American Negro in the World War,
a very important historical book about the First World War.

National Archives
Information about getting Army personnel records

Article About Letter-Writing in WWI

Document About American Indian Code-Talkers in WWI

Just some of the WW I Books on-line
(formerly at UKansas, now BYU)

Tennessee WW I Veterans

The full "Order of Battle" book for the U.S. Army
is available in CD-ROM format from
the United States Government Printing Office.
We no longer have a direct link for the CD listing,
but you can search for "Order of Battle" on their website.

Naval Historical Center

A First World War E-Mail discussion group

An E-Mail discussion group
about the U. S. Marines,
including WW I topics

Army Center for Military History
Their FAQ helps with finding Army personnel records.

WW I archives

New York State Archives have WWI military records