Interesting modern postal history from a location off the beaten path

Philatelic Foreword by Jay Bigalke

In early September, a friend of mine, Austin Foo, traveled to the Marshall Islands in the Pacific and was kind enough to mail me a postcard while on his adventure.

Foo, who is based in New Jersey, works for United Airlines, and he served as the international purser for a flight to Majuro, Marshall Islands, that originated in Honolulu, Hawaii.

The routing was part of what aviation enthusiasts affectionately call the island hopper, which goes from Hawaii to Guam with stops in the Marshall Islands and the Federated States of Micronesia. The only commercial air service for many of those islands, the routing is only served by United on what used to be a Continental Micronesia routing before the airlines merged.

Foo’s adventure was on part of the routing, and he was able to spend 32 interesting hours exploring, including a sailboat adventure and a visit to the Majuro post office in the Marshall’s Islands capital city.

A stamp collector, Foo shares his travel adventures on his Instagram account @ausfoo. He was also an American Philatelic Society Young Philatelic Leaders Fellowship participant in 2015.

Postage rates for the Marshall Islands mirror those of the United States Postal Service. The postcard from Foo was convenience-franked with a 60¢ Year of the Rabbit stamp, one of 12 designs issued on Jan. 22. The current postcard rate is 51¢.

The card was mailed Sept. 8, postmarked again Sept. 12 in Honolulu, and arrived at my mailbox about a week later — pretty fast considering the geography.

The postcard shows some woven flowers by Elefa Handicraft Shop in Majuro.

I just had to share this interesting piece of modern postal history with readers.

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