How were letters sent during the Vietnam War?

Answer 1

We were allowed to simply write "FREE" in the upper right corner of our envelopes to mail letters home from Vietnam. Out in the field, we would get a couple of big orange nylon bags delivered by helicopter with all of the mail for a week or so to our unit. When we mailed letters out, we simply passed them along to the company clerk who got them to the APO, or Army Post Office. All unit return addresses in Vietnam contained the line "APO San Francisco 9xxxx" and were turned over from the postal system to the military at Travis Air Force Base for mail going to Vietnam, and delivered to the same facility from Vietnam to be entered into the U.S. Postal system for stateside delivery.

Answer 2

In a world where there was no internet, no YouTube, and no social media, communication between countries was slower, and mail arrived the old-fashioned way. Letters were sent via the US Postal Service, and when they arrived in Vietnam, officers would collect them and hold them till it was time for Mail Call (the names of those who had received mail were called out). I am told in some units, there was no call-out: letters and post-cards were just left on the bunk of the person. In either case, military members looked forward to this time, as it was the only way they could hear from loved ones back home.

Answer 3

We had post offices in all the bigger bases. They only difference was we didn't need stamps for just letters.