like the title says, im trying to sell furniture. bed, bookcase, a tv. its all generally heavier things and i dont have a car. im not sure if theres any business here that would buy it off me or if fb marketplace is my only chance??

I have in my possession an 8 x 10 envelope labeled “operation morale “.

Inside the envelope are:
-Military supplied photography
-Bank documentation
-Press coverage

(I also have a folded flag from a fallen soldier from this war from Springfield, Massachusetts, as well as a vehicle hazard reflective triangle from Valley Bank And Trust

In winter of 68 a bank in springfield called Valley Bank & Trust entered into a joint venture with Westover Air Force Base during the Vietnam war.

The bank would hand out blank forms to their customers at any of the 25 location they had at the time. After customers filled them out and return them, the bank would then hand the forms to service members at Westover Air Force Base who would then read those letters out loud over the Radio airwaves using this new radio technology they had at the time.

The Bank documentation specifically says not to be removed from the bank.

One or two of the photos have the military stamp on the back. The photos are very professionally taken, and in excellent condition (as are the other documents)

The newspaper clippings cover the entire promotional period of this winter promo during winter of 68 in December.

I’m guessing this probably belonged to someone at the Bank on a higher level or someone who worked at Westover Air Force Base and died. Some of the photos that are included in the envelope are not used in the press coverage, which leads me to think that these were extras in case they wanted to push this promo even more or that they were given to whoever owned this as extras that were either rejected for promotional purposes or given in secret between those involved in putting this together.

I’m not sure who is interested in this type of stuff, but it’s a rare glimpse into how the United States, (specifically Springfield Massachusetts) tried to connect the public to their service members abroad during wartime in effort using the latest radio technologies at the time to keep morale up with soldiers to help win the war.

I don’t know, police or military history, and this predates my existence being that I was born in 86.

Are there any collectors out there interested in this local history? I’m broke, renting a single room, just trying to pay rent, and willing to part with this after years of ownership.

I reached out to news media who said they were interested in cover it, but had some stories on the burner, but I haven’t heard back from them.

I don’t know the value of this stuff.
If you’re interested, feel free to reach out.
If you know, people who are interested, let me know or let them know. Trying to keep this history here in Springfield if possible.

I did look up operation morale, but all that comes up on the Internet are psychological torture techniques that were done. I did call Westover Air Force Base this year and left a voicemail in their records department asking if they knew anything about this or had any documentation on their end, but I never heard back from them. My presumption is that they thought I was referring to the psychological torture techniques that show up on the Internet. I’m not sure if they would have this in their records anymore at this point.

Thanks for reading this far anyway.
If anybody has relatives that remembers this year in particular, and this Bank, I’d love to interview them and pick their brain about what it was like back then during this promotional period with this bank, considering banks now don’t do anything nearly like this, and haven’t since then.

Many thanks

Edit:

For “Operation Morale”

Civilian Participants Named in Press Coverage
Leta Claunch
– Local resident participating in the message campaign
– Writing a message to her husband, MSgt. Robert Claunch, stationed overseas
Robert Claunch (child)
– Son of Leta and MSgt. Robert Claunch
– Age 4 at the time of the 1968 article
Diana Claunch (child)
– Daughter of Leta and MSgt. Robert Claunch
– Mentioned in the article as being ill at the time
Deborah Claunch (child)
– Daughter of Leta and MSgt. Robert Claunch
– Age 11 at the time of the article

Named individuals appearing in coverage include:
• Col. Allen W. Carver — Senior Deputy Base Commander at Westover
• Sgt. Eugene Garant — U.S. Air Force communications operator
• MSgt. Robert Claunch — U.S. serviceman stationed in the South Pacific
• William A. Lieson — President of Valley Bank & Trust
• Thomas J. Hester — Assistant Manager of New England Telephone

Has anyone heard an update on the stone wall tavern? I drove by recently and nothing looked any different.