Coconut

This is a coconut mailed from Raymond J. Boudet, stationed in Hawaii in 1944, to his wife, Marie Boudet, in Springfield, Massachusetts. The addresses are carved into the shell. The postage, two US Scott 820 and one US Scott 812, is affixed to a cardboard tag and totals 37 cents. The postage is adhered to a piece of cardboard and is attached to the coconut with a metal wire poked through the end of the coconut. The stamps were cancelled by the US Navy, the Navy Censor, and the U. S. Department of Agriculture.

The light brown nut is adorned with a carving of a heart pierced by an arrow and labeled "Ray" and "Marie;" a decal of a hula dancing woman playing a ukulele; and "Seabees Hawaiian Islands 43-44" is also carved on the back. Above the address is affixed a decal featuring a bee with tools surrounded by anchors and marked "Seabees," representing the naval construction battalions. Raymond Boudet was a member of the 99th Naval Construction Battalion, Company A.