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US Army Postal Group, Europe |
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| Early Years (Postal Branch - 1940s - 1969) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| (Source: STARS & STRIPES, March 9, 1947) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| (Source: OCCUPATION FORCES, Quarter I, Third Year, Vol. III) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| EUCOM Postal Service | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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(Webmaster note: STATION LIST for 2 September 1947 lists the following BPO's: 18th BPO (Type A), Wiesbaden24th BPO (Type C), Frankfurt 25th BPO (Type F), Würzburg 26th BPO (Type B), Frankfurt27th BPO (Type A), Fürth28th BPO (Type A), Wesermünde (Bremerhaven) 29th BPO (Type A), Pasing (Munich) Also listed are several other Army Postal Units assigned to various locations in Germany with the additional comment that they are scheduled for inactivation -- there are two exceptions: the 68th APU (Berlin) and the 69th APU (Wesermünde) were not scheduled (at least at that time) for inactivation. |
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| The program of reinforcing and marking baggage cars used to transport mail, in a move to detect or eradicate depredations, was completed on 30 July 1947. All windows and doors of the mail cars, except loading doors, were covered with steel matting, and exteriors were painted with distinctive red, white, and blue stripes to identify them and stop their use for other purposes. With mail transport within Germany confined to thirty-six cars so reinforced and so identified, no depredations of mail were reported during the remainder of the quarter. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| (Source: OCCUPATION FORCES, Quarter IV, Third Year, Vol. III) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| On 1 April 1948, a new rail schedule was inaugurated, whereby sealed mail cars at the 28th Base Post Office at Bremerhaven, destined for the 27th Base Post Office at Nürnberg and the 29th Base Post Office at Munich, were routed via Kassel, Fulda, and Würzburg. Railway mail cars out of Frankfurt were attached to passenger trains, and the all-mail train between Frankfurt and Munich was discontinued. Operational difficulties and delays were encountered at Kassel, and on 26 May 1948 the sealed cars from Bremerhaven were routed through Frankfurt, and the mail train from Bremerhaven was put back in service between Frankfurt and Munich. |
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| 26th Base Post Office | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1949 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| (Source: STARS & STRIPES, December 15, 1949) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| The 26th Base Post Office has been stationed in Frankfurt since the beginning of the Occupation in the summer of 1945. CO of the 26th is Capt John W. McMichael. He has a staff of three officers, 68 enlisted men, one Department of the Army civilian and 58 German civilians. The 26th BPO is the clearing house for all EUCOM mail. Incoming mail from MATS or commercial planes is trucked from Rhein-Main airfield to the 26th. Surface mail arriving at Bremerhaven on Army transports is transported to the 26th in guarded mail cars. (The BPO receives 77 rail cars of mail from Bremerhaven every week.) Incoming mail is sorted in the mail shed at the 26th BPO and then rerouted to places as far away as Asmara, Eritrea; Dhahran, Saudi Arabia; the Azores; Athens and Tripoli, plus EUCOM and USFA post offices. At Rhein-Main airfield, a special postal unit, the Mail Regulating Section of the 2nd Air Postal Squadron (an Air Force unit), has been set up to handle EUCOM air mail. Normally, the unit handles an average of 250 pounds of mail daily. During the Christmas rush, the unit can handle up to 3,500 pounds of mail a day. Air mail letters and air parcel post have priority, but the postal officials will use all remaining available space in each aircraft for ordinary parcel-post packages. All transatlantic planes - military and commercial - carry US mail. The 26th is a branch office of the New York City post office for international mail. Mail sent from EUCOM to Luxembourg, for example, takes the same amount of postage as a parcel sent from New York City (to Luxembourg). However, the rate for a parcel sent from Germany to California is the same as from New York City to California. Besides the enormous volume of mail sent by individuals that goes through the BPO, the 26th also handles Army distribution of pamphlets, circulars and posters sent out to various military posts. |
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| 27th Base Post Office | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1952 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| (Source: STARS & STRIPES, Aug 24, 1952) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 44 enlisted men are assigned to the 27th Base Post Office at Nuernberg Military Post. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1970 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| (Source: STARS & STRIPES, June 25, 1970) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| The 27th Base Post Office serves Support District Nord Bayern. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| 28th Base Post Office - 312th BPO | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1950 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| (Source: STARS & STRIPES, May 29, 1950) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| The 28th Base Post Office located at Bremerhaven, recently moved from its old quarters at Fischereihafen to a new building at Columbus Quay. All mail from the US and EUCOM is processed through the post office where approx. 40,000 sacks of mail per month are handled. The move speeds up the dispatch of mail to the Zone of Occupation (southern Germany) by one day, eliminating the 10 to 12 hours previously lost because mail arriving by ship had to be first transported by rail to Fischereihafen before being processed. |
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| 1953 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| (Source: Email from Terrance P. Carroll, 28th BPO, 1953-1955) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| I
read your web site with interest. In October of 1953, I was assigned
to the U. S. Army's 312th Base Post Office.
We
were billeted in the back of the Gutleut Kaserne on the second floor
of the building that sat next to the State Side Club and along the
back near the brick wall. I
remember the post office building being located near the main rail
road station in Frankfurt. We were the mail and baggage distribution
center for all branches of service located in Germany and France.
The 312th consisted of the following sections, Track and Floor, Distribution, Operations, Registered Mail, Motor Pool and CP Riders. I don't remember how many troops we had but it was a large unit. We were commanded by two Majors, two Captains and a number of lieutenants. I was a CP Rider. I was a CP rider. [I don't remember what CP rider meant, but on my separation paper my duty was listed as a railway mail guard.] Except for the Christmas mail rush of 1954, which I volunteered to help with, I rode military trains all over Germany and a part of France guarding the mail. We rode in a box car and when the train stopped we made sure that none of the sealed military box cars were entered. We also dropped off and received mail from military postal units at various stops. Sometime between my arrival in October 1953 and my departure in March 1955, this unit changed it's name to the 28th Base Post Office. I have no idea why or when this change took place. Other units billeted at the Gutleut Kaserne at that time were the 709th MP Battalion, 540th Railway MP, an ASA and a Refrigerator unit. Just about all of us had a beer or two at the Palm Room, Fischerstube, Reicholf, and The Mairagustel. Tonys was a small place across from the Kaserne that served little pizzas. In searching the internet for any information on the these BPO s I found a mention of a 24th Base Post Office located at the Gutleut Kaserne around 1948. This is all the information I could find. I have however, located 15 veterans who served with these units. I have remained in touch with Roman Borkan, Jake Flynn, Jim McGinn, Lew Plonty, Jerry Palmer and Don Morrison in Minnesota, Fordy Gregg and Don Rasmussen in Michigan, Douglas Calvert in Utah, Howard Ruvelson in California, Len Sullivan in Maine, Del Cain in Massachusetts, and Tom Craig in North Carolina. In order to keep in contact we put out our first newsletter in April, 2003. Terrance P. Carroll |
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| 1955 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| (Source: Email from Tom Craig, 28th BPO, 1955-57) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| I was assigned
to the 28th BPO from March of 1955 until
April of 1957. While assigned there, our compliment of troops numbered
between 76 and a little over 100, with one German National whose name
I can't remember. During the Christmas season of 1955, we worked as many as 18 days in a row without a day off. I remember on one occasion, the USS United States docked in Bremerhaven, and we received 43 box cars loaded with mail. Fortunately for us, only eight of those had to be unloaded and rerouted. The rest were "directs" with all the mail on them going to one general area. We had three shifts working 24 hours a day while I was at the 28th BPO. The midnight shift had only one man on it. The rest of us were divided into the other two shifts, and the CP riders. We had several CP runs at that time; including Bremerhaven, Munich and Paris. One of the runs used Hermann Georing's personal railroad car. It had two ramps mounted on one end, so that his personal automobile could be driven into the railroad car and go wherever he went. In the winter of either 1955-56 or 1956-57, they had the coldest winter on record. One night we worked on the "Track and Floor" loading mail on to box cars, and it was 13 degrees below zero. We closed up the Berlin boxcar and it was pulled out to be coupled with the rest of the train. Twenty minutes later, the truck from Heidelberg arrived with the Commanding General's pouch for the next day. Four of us drove over to the South Bahnhof to make sure the pouch got on the boxcar. It took all four of us with the aid of the long wheel bar, that was used to start a box car rolling so that it could be moved by hand, to pry the door open. In those few minutes, it had frozen shut. That is the coldest I ever want to be. Our commanding officer when I arrived was Capt. Murphy. The other officers I remember were Capt. Gaady (sp.), and 2nd Lt. Baker. Mister McDermott was the Warrant Officer. Capt. Murphy made major and moved on. Capt. Gaady became commanding officer, and Lt. Baker was promoted to 1st Lt. My favorite items traveling through the mail were the camel saddles that guys stationed in the near east sent home. Try stacking those in a box car. I am looking for anyone who was with the 312th and the 28th BPO. Please contact me. Tom Craig |
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| (Source: STARS & STRIPES, Dec 13, 1955) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
APO 727, located at Atterberry Area and supporting Frankfurt Sub-area, recently merged with the 28th Base Processing Office. 28th BPO took over the functions of APO 727, resulting in faster mail service for personnel in the Frankfurt area.. |
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| 1963 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| (Source: Email from Frederick Leach, 28th BPO, Nov 1963 - May 1966) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| I was fascinated to have discovered this web site and will enjoy sharing my recollections of my duty in Gutleut Kaserne from 1963 to 1966. The 28th BPO processed mail for the greater part of Western Europe as I recall. My recollections begin on a grey and rainy day in November in Germany. I did not speak German and had received no orientation concerning where I was being stationed for duty or the culture I was entering. After arriving at Rhine-Main Air Base I was assigned to a personnel replacement station in central Frankfurt before being transported to the 28th BPO in Gutleut Kaserne. Those first months of Track and Floor duty unloading mail sacks and packages from trucks and trains in the off-site transfer terminal across the Main River in Sachsenhausen introduced me to Frankfurt shuttling back and forth to the kaserne. I remember MSgt Matcaroff, Pfc Federici, Pfc Vinson, Pfc Smitka, SSgt Schmidt and many more. I remember long white tile corridors of the kaserne barracks on the first, second and third floors on Gutleut Strasse. I moved on to the Administrative Office at the off-site facility, then to the Training Office in the kaserne under the Detachment SSgt Joe Calendra, God bless him. Such excellent servicemen I was privileged to serve with: Ed Bush, Joe Hurtig, Jack Schacheran (hello), Bill Whalen, Pfc Gustafson, Benny Robinson, Ed Winters, Bob Parmer, Jim Joelson, Steve Kaner, Bob Haack, Bob Johnson, Rod Hayden, Clyde Wright, Billy Crow, WO Conrad, Lt McLain, Lt Lake, Lt Kearney, Benny Mangham, Billy Clyde, Jim Isenberg, John Moore, Joe DiGilarmo, Roscoe Bray, Sgt Sifuentes, SSgt Dubroc, Pete Turant, Bob Humbert, Sgt Mezo, Jim Allen, Sgt Joe Polumbo and many others I remember. In the Training Office organizing the training sessions, then to Company Clerk. I worked in the EM Club after my duty hours waiting on tables, making change for the slot machines and selling cigs. and having a front row view of the live entertainment bands with Hans, Inge, Mellie, Elke, Sophie, Angie, Helen, my German co-workers. Explored the kaserne attics and basement and sub-basements, a very old and architecturally interesting group of buildings. Some upper rooms had bars on the windows and metal rings in the walls for some purpose in the past, great wooden beams in attics that went on like caverns. There were two four or five story towers on either side of the main, arched, drive-thru gate or short tunnel. I had a room in one of the towers for a while. Gutleut Kaserne was configured similar to a fort, the center court a parking area for military vehicles. There was a gym building, a movie theatre, mess hall, fuel enclosure, Officers and EM Club, and Chapel within the court area. A barber shop staffed by German Nationals, always delighted to accept a tip, a laundry facility also staffed by German Nationals. Delightful Italian German National girls working in the mess hall. A library in the basement level at the far side of the kaserne facing the Hauptbahnhof. Gutleut Kaserne was constructed entirely of dark red brick that bore countless bullet and shell holes in the facade from WW2. Other entities there: the ASA, MPs, Motorpool, Stockade and others. For that brief time I served there we were fortunate that our service occurred during a relatively peaceful period for the U.S.. |
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| (Source: Email from Jeffrey Koren, 28th BPO, 1964-66) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| From 1964-1966 I was a member of the 28th Base Post Office, stationed in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. I was housed in the Gutleut Kasserne. At the time I was there, the unit was approx 60-75 men strong. No females. It's primary mission was to move mail. All mail from military personnel, whether leaving Germany or coming into Germany was processed through the 28th Base Post Office. Actual mail sorting took place within a large "sub train station" known as the "SUD GUTER BAHNHOF". I don't remember the exact address, but the location wasn't far from the main Frankfurt am Main train station. I'd estimate that the SUD GUTER BAHNHOF was approx a 75,000- 100,000 square building. The mail was "worked" around the clock with three shifts. The midnight shift was manned the lightest. Each day, all military units within a designated mile radius would truck their mail to the centralized location and in turn pick-up their unit mail. Units that were too far away to truck-in, sent their mail by train.........., in military sealed box cars. The box cars were positioned along a rail-track approach to the facility and one by one were unloaded. Then the outgoing mail was loaded-up and the box cars left for designated locations. Mail that arrived by ship (Bremerhaven) was sent by train. Including the God-aweful Sears catalogs. Seemed like every military person in Germany got a catalog. Ha! Ha! The unit occupied a section of the first and second floors of the Gutleut Kaserne. I recall that all the room windows looked-out onto Gutleut Strasse, just to the left (as you faced the main gate) of the main gate of the Kaserne. Above us, on the third floor a Military Police unit was billeted. I don't recall what unit it was, but it did the policing of the Gutleut Kaserne and surrounding area -- into the downtown Frankfurt area. They wanted their mail and we wanted to be cut some slack........, so we had a mutual agreement not to **ck with each other. That's about it. The two+ years I spent there, in hindsight were pretty enjoyable. I didn't understand the impact at the time, but beginning in 1965 the Army began transfering-out some personnel to a place call Vietnam. I was discharged and just came back home to Los Angeles. The only person from the unit that I have had any contact with since 1966 was our company clerk (James Joelson). I believe that now he lives in the Sacramento, Calif area. Jeffrey Koren |
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| (Source: STARS & STRIPES, Nov 7, 1964) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| During the Christmas rush (Nov 20 - New Year), the 28th BPO - hub of the US Army's postal system in Europe - doubles its normal workload of 100 tons of mail daily. During this period, the unit may handle up to 15 rail cars of US-bound mail weekly. The 28th is normally staffed with 147 military and 16 civilan personnel. During the ruch, however, the unit is augmented by 28 soldiers on temporary duty from other units in the area. The mission of the 28th BBO is to receive, separate, distribute, route and dispatch mail to and from military post offices in Europe. |
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| 1970 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| (Source: Email from Robert P. IVES, 28th BPO, 1970-71) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| I was the last
commander of the 28th Base Post Office.
In June or July 1970, the BPO was reorganized and redesignated as
the 228th Adjutant General Company (Postal).
The APUs in Hanau, Aschaffenburg, and Darmstadt were incorporated
into the 228th and were designated as "Teams." When I came in April 1970, the mail handling facility was in Sachsenhausen, south across the Main River from Frankfurt. It was located in what was called the Südgüterbahnhof (south freight train station). It was in a poor state of repair. The soldiers lived in Gutleut Kaserne which was around the corner from the Frankfurt Hauptbahnhof. In 1970 the area was rather rundown containing drug dealers, prostitutes, and other low life. The kaserne was built prior to the turn of the century and showed its age. The plumbing and heating were poor. Maintenance money was scarce as most of the effort was still going to Viet Nam. Anti-war protestors used to march up Gutleutstrasse to the Bahnhofplatz for a rally. Some of the soldiers would throw water-filled condoms out of the billet windows on the marchers. That was frowned upon, however what the officers didn't know, didn't matter. The soldiers were generally good with the exception of a few short-timers on ITT from Viet Nam. One SP5 was caught with drugs upon arrival in Germany. We ran three shifts, 24 hours per day, 365 days per year. Authorized strength was 7 officers and 225 EMs. We received mail via air, truck, and rail. We also exchanged international mail with the Bundespost. We ran railway mail cars daily to Munich via Stuttgart and to Bremerhaven and Berlin. We had about 20 local nationals and third-country nationals (mostly Italians) who were bulk mail handlers. One of my last acts as CO was to negotiate with AAFES for a portion of a new warehouse that they were building in the area to use as the mail handling facility. I left in July 1971 for greener pastures. The Company moved into the new facility around the first of 1972. Later on, I understand, the billets were moved to a kaserne closer to the new mail handling facility. I understand that Gutleut Kaserne still stands but is abandoned. Robert P. Ives MAJOR, USA (RET) |
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| US Army Postal Group, Europe | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 US Army Postal Group, Europe DI |
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| 1989 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| (Source: Letter from the PAO, 1st PERSCOM, May 1989) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Postal Branch within the Adjutant General Division, HQ, USAREUR, became operational on 26 June 1952. The U. S. Army, Europe (USAREUR) Staff Postal Officer operated under the Adjutant General, and had responsibility for Army Postal Services with the USAREUR Communications Zone. Initially, operational control of USAREUR postal organizations was decentralized to local commanders of the 17th Army Postal Unit in Paris, France; Theater Postal Finance Office in Wurzburg, Germany; and 28th Base Post Office in Bremerhaven, Germany. By 1960, postal activities in Europe had expanded to include a Base Postal Office at Metz, France; eleven Army Postal Units operating twenty-eight Army Post Offices; and the USAREUR Postal Finance Office (moved from Wuerzburg to Metz, France in 1954 and co-located with the Base Postal Office). Although technical supervision continued to be provided by Postal Branch, no centralized organization existed to exercise operational control over the postal organizations within USAREUR. The United States Army Postal Group, Europe, was organized
per USAREUR & 7th Army General Order 148 dated 26 February 1969,
and was assigned total responsibility for all postal functions
formerly executed by the USAREUR Adjutant General Postal Branch which had been redesignated as a Division. The six Base Post Offices and ninteen Army Postal Units initially assigned were
reduced and redesignated as three Adjutant General Companies
(Postal), and eleven Adjutant General Detachments (Postal). From 1 January 1974 to 16 September 1988, the United States Army Postal Group, Europe exercised command and control over three Postal Companies and seventeen Postal Detachments located in Germany, Belgium, and Holland; provided technical control over all postal operations throughout US Army Europe, and was responsible for coordinating mail movement and postal services to the military forces in the Sinai, Berlin, Liberia, Turkey, Zaire and England. At that time U. S. Army Postal Group, Europe was authorized 962 military and 113 Department of the Army civilians, and moves 71,000 tons of mail each year while providing in excess of $100,000,000 in postal finance sales annually. |
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| (Source: STATION LIST, 30 June 1976) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ORGANIZATION (1976): | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| On 16 September 1988 the Army of Excellence initiative culminated in the consolidation of the Theater Army Postal mission under US Army Postal Group, Europe. This effort resulted in the streamlining of 26 postal units to 9 company headquarters and 26 postal platoons geographically dispersed over a 64,000 square mile radius. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| 228th AG Postal Company | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 Gutleut Kaserne, 1971 |
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| 1971 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| (Source: Email from Randy Arneson, 228th AG Postal Co, 1970-71) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| I was in the 228th Postal Group 1971-72. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| 1974 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| (Source: STARS & STRIPES, Jan 16, 1974) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| The 228th AG Postal Company is considered one of the world's largest Army post offices. In addition to serving the Frankfurt area, the post office also serves as a trans-shipment point for mail headed to Nuernberg and Stuttgart. One of the first things done by a newly arrived soldier when inprocessing, is to fill out a postal locator card. The card contains the soldier's complete name, social security number, former unit and new unit. A similar card will be kept on file in the Heidelberg post office. When a letter addressed to a soldier is received at the 228th AG Postal Company, the postal clerk checks the locator files. If the name of the individual is not found under the file, the letter will be forwarded to the Heidelberg office. The 228th has a staff of 150 postal clerks who work in shifts seven days a week throughout the year. Incoming mail destined for soldiers station in Europe can come from three possible sources: exchanges with the German post, intra-command mail or mail received from the States. |
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 Don Franks and company sign, Gibbs Barracks, 1987 |
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 Registered Mail section |
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| 1986 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| (Source: Email from Don Franks, 228th AG Postal Co, 1986-90) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| I lived off post in Offenbach just 2 miles from the BPO. I worked in every aspect of the operations of this company. I was in tight with a GS14 from 1st Perscom in H-burg His name was Ed Dimeske. Ed and a few of us started the Express mail system along with a whole new mail type called sensitive mail. This was to account for payrole without having to pay any additional cost. It started with having problems with IMR. Getting mail to the Germans without them messing it up. It worked and we saved the Military tons of money. We where HQ'd on Gibbs the whole time I was there. However I understand the 228th did stay in Offenbach prior to me. There was a Building being maintained by the USAR's. The Gibbs commander tried to get us to move there at one time. Big story in small we did not move there due to the Young GI Girls not wanting to be away from the PX. I have tons of stories. I loved it there. I was there when the wall came down. It was historic. |
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 228th Postal Softball Team during a home game at Gibbs |
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| Related Links: 1st Personnel Command - official home page |
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24th BPO 
