Postal Service, Yankee Air Museum to present ‘Letters from Home’

Letters from home connect loved ones to the brave men and women serving in the military.
To honor our veterans, United States Postal Service and the Yankee Air Museum have partnered together to highlight “Letters from Home” at a special event at 1 p.m., Tuesday, July 11, at the Yankee Air Museum, 47884 D St. Belleville, MI 48111.
“The Postal Service has a proud history of supporting American troops and their families by delivering letters and packages,” said USPS Detroit District Manager Lee Thompson. “This event holds special significance for the Postal Service, which is one of the nation’s largest employers of veterans. More than 113,000 of our employees have served in the armed forces. That’s nearly one in five employees.”
Honored at the event will be special guest retired Lieutenant Colonel Charles Kettles, Medal of Honor recipient, Vietnam War. Kettles was awarded the Medal of Honor by President Barack Obama on July 18, 2016 for his role in a Vietnam helicopter rescue of 44 fellow soldiers.
“The Yankee Air Museum is honored to partner with the Postal Service for this wonderful event celebrating our nation’s military,” said Yankee Air Museum’s Curatorial Director Julie Osborne. “Receiving care packages and letters from home mean so much to our deployed servicemen and women. With the help of the USPS, the Yankee Air Museum recently sent over 100 care packages to our troops in the Middle East. We are greatly looking forward to celebrating and honoring our veterans at this event.”
The event is free and open to the public. After the ceremony, the public is invited to stay at the Yankee Air Museum, a Smithsonian Affiliations member, and visit the Mail Call exhibition, created by the National Postal Museum and circulated by the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service.
Mail Call explores the history of America’s military postal system, and examines how even in today’s era of instant communication, troops overseas continue to treasure mail delivered from home. The exhibition tells the fascinating story of military mail and communication – from the American Revolution to current wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Yankee Air Museum is the first museum in Michigan hosting the exhibit, where it will be on display until Aug. 6. For more information on the exhibit, visit www.yankeeairmuseum.org or www.sites.si.edu .
The Postal Service receives no tax dollars for operating expenses and relies on the sale of postage, products, and services to fund its operations.
Yankee Air Museum is located at 47884 D Street, Belleville, on the grounds of historic Willow Run Airport. The museum is open Tuesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and on Sunday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. For more information, call (734) 483-4030.