WWII History:
The following is an extract from: "Your Boy in the Armed Forces", Authentic Publications Co, New York, 1942. This publication was written for families of servicemen during the war. It was designed to provide families with information about military life in general, what to send, what to write, how to contact POWs or wounded men in the hospital, along with maps of the theatres of war.

THE RULES OF CENSORSHIP

Before your letter leaves the country, it must pass through the Office of Censorship. The censors' duty is to block out from your letter any facts which may be of military value to the enemy, should it fall into his hands.

Thousands upon thousands of letters pass through the Office of Censorship every day. Letters may be delayed not only account of the congestion but because unclear handwriting, puzzling expressions and careless discussions of military matters slow up the censors' work. If your letter is quite unreadable, it will be returned to you.

In order to make the censorship of international mail as effective and economical as possible, the following rules must be observed:

The name and full address of the sender must be on the outside of the envelope, and in the letter itself.

The correspondence should be in English if possible. If not, the name of the language in which it is written must be indicated on the outside of the envelope.

Avoid use of abbreviations, nicknames, phrases or codes in place of customary reference or description of any person, firm, location or other information.

If you are working in a defense plant, or if your firm is employed in munitions or other government work, do not mention this fact when writing abroad.

Refuse to act as an intermediary or agent for the receipt or transmission of postal correspondence on behalf of persons in foreign countries, except: If your boy is in an Army or Navy camp, post or station, and wishes to correspond with a friend overseas, that friend may use your address, because he may not send letters from a foreign country directly to an individual in any military or naval establishment.

The following list states simply the specific subjects to be avoided in all correspondence abroad:

1. Information regarding the identity, location or description of any naval or military vessel, aircraft, or merchant vessel belonging to the United States or to any of the United Nations or to a neutral nation. Especially:

a. Details of convoys, their assembly ports, anchorages or methods of routing.

b. The time of arrival or departure within one week. (Vague references are permissible. You may say: "Arriving soon" or "in a few weeks.")

c. Remarks about any unusual assembly of ships, aircraft or personnel.

d. Movements of important vessels.

e. Speculations as to the nature of the cargo on any ship or airplane.

2. Do not mention weather conditions except as much information as is given in the daily press.

3. Don't talk about defense weapons.

4. Do not mention the name or location of any plant where defense weapons are being manufactured.

5. Do not discuss the diplomatic, military or naval plans of the United States or any other of the United Nations.

6. Do not describe any of the civilian defense measures which are taking place around you.

7. Do not discuss the state of mining, lumbering, fishing, livestock, farming or any other essential industry.

8. Avoid any mention of the effect of enemy operations, such as casualties to personnel, damage to property of the United States or any other United Nation.

9. The number, location, description or identity of prisoners of war must not be mentioned.

10. Avoid criticism of the equipment or morale of our forces.

Don't be discouraged by the above necessary military restrictions. Write often to the soldier. Write long letters. Help keep your soldier informed about your family. Provide him with interesting personal reading matter. That is what he expects in his letters.

Remember, the War Department considers your mail important enough to include a shipment of mail on every ship that leaves the country.

(The following wartime cartoon about censorship was published in "Yank", June 15, 1945, Vol. 3, No. 52.)

Censorship Cartoon
"BUT THE POINT IS THIS -
DO THE JAPS KNOW THAT WE
KNOW YESTERDAY WAS THE 28TH?"
- By Sgt. Ozzie St. George

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WWII History:
The following is an article and cartoon from Yank magazine, December 9, 1942, Vol 1, No 26. It was a write-in contest for servicemen to try and find the largest soldier. Other categories were included in the contest, including things like height and shoe size.

Yank Magazine
Can You Top These?

The hill that just moved may be a 300-pound private. If so, tell us his name and poundage. The leading candidates are over 275 pounds, on the hoof.

- Sgt. GEORGE B. MARKLEY
      252 lbs. - Stoney Field, Charleston, S.C.
- S/Sgt. PAUL STARRETT
      320 lbs. - Stringtown Intern. Camp, Okla.
- Pvt. HENRY
      330 lbs. - Briggs Field, Tex.
- Pfc. ORIS N. TYRE
      324 lbs. - South Plains Flying School, Tex.
- Pvt. STANLEY MANNING
      303 lbs. - Recep. Cen., Ft. Lewis, Wash.
- Pvt. MARVIN C. YOUNG
      345 lbs.
- M/Sgt. MORRIS YURAK
      262 lbs. - Governors Island, N.Y.