SP 4736 Cachet / NAPEX

This cover has a neat oval 4-digit Secteur Postal 4736 handstamp and would have made a nice inclusion in the presentation I gave at NAPEX last year. This is an example of a transitional marking with French text but that includes a 4-digit Vietnamese Khu Buu Chinh zone number. Note the use of the KBC abbreviation in the address line. The recipient appears to have been at KBC 3011, the Vietnamese Air Force general headquarters in Tan Son Nhut.

Speaking of NAPEX, I am looking forward to seeing everyone at the Society of Indo-china Philatelists annual meeting in McLean, VA next Saturday.

NAPEX, ROK Forces, APO Number List

I just got back from NAPEX in Virginia for the Society of Indo-china Philatelists annual meeting. As always, I had a great time catching up with other SICP members. I gave a presentation titled, "South Vietnam at War 1952-1956," Peter Corson talked about the North/South Family Postcards and Howard Daniels showed some interesting financial instruments and other material from the region. I am sure Jack Dykhouse will do a full write up for the next issue of the ICP.

I picked up a couple of items from dealers, and a group of KBC material from a fellow collector that I will be scanning.

I bought the cover shown here because it is the first I've seen from Republic of Korea (ROK) forces in Vietnam that references a US APO number (96240). I'm not sure why it was added, since the Koreans ran their own military postal service. [I've talked about ROK forces a couple of times on this blog ].

At any rate, I've had a difficult time figuring out the locations or dates for these covers, so having an APO cross-reference helps. In this case, the APO was located at Nha Trang Air Base.

While APO 96240 was easy enough to Google, a lot of them are difficult to identify. This prompts me to inquire if any reader can point me to a list of 5-digit APO numbers used in Vietnam. I have the excellent Numbered Army & Air Force Post Office Locations produced by the Military Postal History Society, but it only covers through 1964 when the 3-digit numbers were still in use.

Even a partial list of 5-digit APOs would be helpful.

Update June 9

John Carroll pointed me to a 1994 MPHS publication, United States Numbered Military Post Offices Assignments and Locations 1941 to 1994, edited by George Cosentini and Norman Gruenzner. It is out of print, but I found a copy from Phil Banser.

Indo-China Revenue Catalog 2nd Edition

The Society of Indo-china Philatelist's Indo-china Revenue Stamp Catalog Second Edition was awarded a vermeil medal at NAPEX in early June. The literature exhibit is the third largest in the United States with 40 entries.

The updated catalog, released at the show, provides comprehensive revenue stamp listings for Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and Indo-china. Sections are included for Indo-china revenue stamped paper and pecule overprints. Most items are priced and shown in full color.

The price is $20 post-paid in the US, $25 mailed to other countries. Order it from SICP Executive Secretary, Ron Bentley.