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Some mail sent to sailors aboard the USS Harry S. Truman was lost at sea

Posted at 1:13 PM, Dec 12, 2013
and last updated 2013-12-12 13:15:03-05

Norfolk, Va. - If you sent mail to a loved one aboard the aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman between late October and mid-November there's a chance it did not arrive.

Captain Bob Roth posted on the carrier's Facebook page Thursday that two boxes of mail sent from the U.S. to the ship were lost at sea when downwash from a helicopter rotor blew them overboard.

Sadly, Keshawnda Morrow has heard about mail getting lost before.

"I`m actually in the Navy and my family has sent me stuff that got lost, and it is frustrating because you saw me I took a long time packing that up," says Morrow.

Keshawnda is glad she waited until today to send her brother and sister -- both on the USS Truman their Christmas presents.

"I was mailing them snacks, books, stuff that they really needed because they want be home for Christmas and I wanted to surprise them because it will be like a piece of home."

Keshawnda got her packages insured -- and hopefully if your mail was in the boxes blown overboard you had insurance.

Priority mail is automatically insured up to $50 so whether you are covered there or bought insurance you have to wait 45 days from the postmark date to fill out a form and file a claim. You can get the form from any post office.

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The Navy estimates about 200 pounds of mail were in the boxes. With the increase in holiday mail, the ship receives about 19,600 pounds of mail per week.

There is a 45 day waiting period from postmark date to file a claim with the U.S. Postal service over lost mail. To make a claim the mail must have been insured. Form 1000 is available in any continental U.S. Post Office.