Linking Service Members with the Home Front

Written by Will Armstrong, History Associates Incorporated

Every generation in American military service has found ways to communicate with friends and loved ones, often through letters and postcards, all typically censored for content.  By the 20th Century, however, new developments had changed—at least to some extent—the ways in which those in service could connect with those back home.

Although a soldier stationed on the home front in World War I might be able to phone home, overseas personnel still relied on the written word—picture postcards were a favorite in the American Expeditionary Force.  The speed with which letters reached service members may have improved over the next few decades with the advent of the airplane, but most correspondence was still carried on board ships and took a while to reach its destination.

During World War II, “V-Mail” often replaced the usual letters home.  The letter writer would obtain a sheet of V-Mail paper—too short for any lengthy correspondence—which was passed through the censor and then microfilmed.  The microfilm was easier and cheaper to transport to and from the States.  Once across the ocean, small printed versions of the letters were generated from the microfilm and sent on their way.  V-Mail saved weight, space, and costs needed for critical war materiel, but didn’t reach its destination any faster than traditional mail.  For those fortunate enough to have the opportunity, a WWII or Korean War-era service member who found themselves in a rear area might also make an audio recording for loved ones on a Recordio, a wax-coated cardboard record that could be mailed home and played on any record player.

During the Vietnam War, fortunate service members in some overseas areas were able to talk to loved ones at home via telephone.  By the time of Operation DESERT SHIELD in August 1990, service members could use phone cards for a direct connection to the States.  By the mid 1990s phone cards were ubiquitous, and AT&T established military phone centers in the Persian Gulf and the Balkans to provide unlimited direct-dial service for service personnel who could afford it.  Letters, however, remained a less expensive alternative.  By the end of the decade American forces operating in Bosnia had access to the internet, including e-mail and video conferencing, through the Army’s Morale, Welfare, and Recreation program.

Today, the internet is revolutionizing communications with the ‘folks at home’.  E-mail, instant messaging, texting, blogs, and cell phone technology have all advanced communications between home and those at the front.  Service members can send messages and chat in real time, upload and share photos in seconds (even those that have never been near a military censor), and keep up with family and friends via Facebook and MySpace.  Indeed, the ability to so quickly and widely disseminate information from the front has caused concern, and led the military to restrict some activities such as the posting of combat videos and photos on YouTube and Flicker, respectively.  Those with their own computers, and access to non-DoD networks, find ways to skirt such restrictions.  With internet access, personnel overseas can even read their hometown newspaper, watch American television programming, and listen to their favorite hometown radio station.  No matter how much technology advances, however, there will never be a true substitute for home.