The U.S. Postal Service will be making history this month. As a community service, the U.S. Postal Service is offering a pictorial postmark to commemorate the commissioning of the USS Fort Lauderdale (LPD 28) on July 30, 2022.

Customers wishing to obtain a postmark must affix the minimum of a First-Class Mail stamp to any envelope or postcard of their choice, address the envelope or postcard to themselves or others, insert a card of postcard thickness in envelopes for sturdiness, and tuck in the flap. Place the envelope or postcard in a larger envelope and address it to:

South Florida USPS District Office
Attn: USS Fort Lauderdale Pictorial Postmark
1900 West Oakland Park Blvd
Fort Lauderdale FL 33310-9998

The USS Fort Lauderdale (LPD 28) pictorial postmark requests must be postmarked no later than 30 days following the pictorial postmark date of July 30. There is no cost or limit to the number of postmark requests.

The city of Fort Lauderdale, named after Major William Lauderdale, became a fort in 1838. In December 1941, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers began transforming an abandoned nine-hole golf course and Merle Fogg Field into a base, known as Naval Air Station Fort Lauderdale, FL. It was used to train pilots and air crews in the Avenger torpedo bomber, including former President George H. W. Bush. In 1946, following the end of World War II, the U.S. Navy decommissioned NAS Fort Lauderdale and turned it over to the government of Broward County. That location is now home to Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport.

The USS Fort Lauderdale measures 684 feet long, carries a crew of more than 350, and can transport a fully equipped battalion of more than 700 Marines. The ship has space for aircraft, including up to three CH-46 Sea Hawks or one MV-22 Osprey helicopter, along with various other military landing craft and assault vehicles.

The Postal Service generally receives no tax dollars for operating expenses and relies on the sale of postage, products, and services to fund its operations.

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