Below you will see images of the obverse and reverse sides of another recent cover acquisition. Nothing special about the stamp here. It is a definitive stamp (i.e., a regular issue with a generic design to be sold over a longer period of time) , Scott #1041 (too bad it is not the valuable 1041a double print error), as opposed to the commemorative stamps (stamps issued for a limited period of time that commemorate a person, place, thing, or event) that I will most often feature.
But the postmark, cancellation, and cachets are what count here. A cancellation is used to deface or "kill" a stamp to prevent its reuse. A postmark is used to indicate the Post Office of origin and date and time of mailing. The circular date stamp shows a postmark date of July 4th (American Independence Day), 1960, at the South Pole Station, Antarctica. This slogan cancellation includes five killer bars and the slogan "U.S. Navy, Operation Deep Freeze."
The Amundson-Scott South Pole Station was built to support researchers during the International Geophysical Year. The U.S. Navy was charged with providing logistical support for the U.S. scientific efforts of the IGY. Construction of the South Pole Station started in November 1956, and was completed in February 1957, a few months before the official beginning of the IGY. Previous scientific stations in Antarctica were located near its seacoast. The South Pole station has now been continuously occupied since it was built. You can see some of the Navy's construction and logistical endeavors in this early Operation Deep Freeze video .
(By the way, many topics I will discuss have very good write-ups in Wikipedia which I will consult, but I will tend to opt for more idiosyncratic hyperlinks, since you'll certainly consider visiting Wikipedia yourself for more details.)
The printed cachet, like the slogan on the cancellation, honors Operation Deep Freeze. I find the cachet a bit confusing, since it is labeled as ODF 1959-60, which corresponds to the postmark date and to Operation Deep Freeze 60 (for the 1960 fiscal year). Yet the map highlights the TRAIL that was forged by an overland tractor train that left out of the Little America V station in late 1956 to establish the Byrd Research Station over 600 miles away. Perhaps this date refers to the 1960 construction of a second underground facility at the Byrd Station. I assume the photo insert is of the eponymous polar explorer Admiral Richard Byrd, who commanded the U.S. Navy Operation Deep Freeze I in 1955–56, when the South Pole Station was constructed.
I don't know if the "South Pole" beneath the address to Bert Smith has any significance.
On the back of the cover, there is an additional rubberstamped cachet. I like the way the logos for the USN and IGY, the military and scientific collaborators, bracket the Navy sailor with the sailor's hat holding up the world via Antarctica. "Deep Freeze V" is actually a misnomer for what is properly named Operation Deep Freeze 60 (since Deep Freeze I was in 1955-56).
If you want to know more about Operation Deep Freeze, especially the role of the U.S. Air Force's airlift support, consult: Operation Deep Freeze - 50 Years of U.S. Air Force Airlift in Antarctica, 1956-2006; Ellery D. Wallwork and Kathryn A. Wilcoxson; Office of History, Air Mobility Command, 2006.
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