Photograph to the left: US Passport photo of Mary Catherine Bergamo. Year: 1954.
Was vaccination and inoculation for diseases and viruses such as Smallpox a prerequisite stipulation for obtaining a USA Passport in 1961 and/or for Americans to travel internationally in 1961?
According to secondhand sources it might appear that such vaccinations and/or inoculations were stipulated. According to one unknown 1954 Pennsylvania newspaper on ‘Passport Data’ a Smallpox vaccination appears to have been a requirement for obtaining a US Passport and/or traveling abroad. The question was put forth in these words, ‘I am a naturalized U.S. citizen planning a trip to France this fall. Where do I apply in Philadelphia for a passport? Do I need shots of any kind? L.M.’
The answer given was as follows (truncated for relevancy to ‘do I need shots if any kind?’), ‘After the smallpox vaccination form is completed by the applicant’s physician it must be certified by the department of health in the county in which the physician practices. It is good for three years.’
Attached directly below is a scan of the tangible newspaper clipping that I have in my personal possession:
1954 unknown Pennsylvania newspaper on ‘Passport Data’. Mary Catherine Bergamo.
However, a review of the official Information for Bearers of Passports (December 24, 1952), issued by the Passport Office, Department of State, printed by the US Government Printing Office, in 1953, proves otherwise.
Page 12: Subsection (b) ‘Smallpox vaccination for travel to foreign countries’. ‘The United States Public Health Services urges all prospective travelers to foreign countries who are not immune to smallpox by previous attack or successful vaccination within 3 years, as evidenced by a valid vaccination certificate, to be vaccinated prior to travel and to secure a certificate on which the result of the vaccination is recorded. Otherwise passengers may be subjected to possible delay and vaccination before they are readmitted to the United States.’
Conclusion: The United States urged Americans travelers to be vaccinated for Smallpox before traveling abroad but did not stipulate that such vaccinations were mandatory.
Page 13: Subsection (c) ‘Inoculation requirements for travel throughout the world‘. ‘It is urged that American citizens obtain appropriate inoculations before leaving the United States since this will tend to safeguard health and may avoid possible difficulties under the quarantine regulations of foreign countries. Inquiry concerning the inoculation requirements of a foreign country should be made of the nearest representative of the United States Health Service or of the Division of Foreign Quarantine, Public Health Service, Federal Security Agency, Washington 25, D.C.; or inquiry on this subject may be made of the nearest consular representative of the foreign country in the United States.’
Conclusion: The USA urged American travelers to obtain appropriate inoculations before traveling abroad but did not stipulate that such inoculations were mandatory.
Also please see the following pages for related data:
Page 11 thru 12: Section 11 ‘Special documents required for visas for certain countries‘. (This section states that most Latin America countries required visa applicants to present Smallpox vaccination certificates and that many Latin America countries also required police certificates.)
Also please see the following pages for other interesting, and highly useful, data NOT related to vaccinations and inoculations:
Page 17 thru 18: Section 18 ‘Dual Nationality‘.
Page 18: Section 19 ‘Failure to recognize American naturalization‘.
Page 33: ‘…Provided, however, That no woman who was a national of the United States shall be deemed to have lost her nationality solely by reason of her marriage to an alien on or after September 22, 1922, or to an alien racially ineligible to citizenship on or after March 3, 1931, or, in case of a woman who was a United States citizen at birth, through residence abroad following such marriage, notwithstanding the provisions of any existing treaty or convention.’
Page 60: ‘Great Britain’. ‘Under the British Nationality Act of 1948, effective January 1, 1949, it is understood to be the British view that no British national can lose British citizenship by naturalization in a foreign state on or after January 1, 1949, until a formal renunciation is made under section 19 of the Act.’
I have in my personal possession, and have now digitized, the entire tangible booklet entitled, Information for Bearers of Passports (December 24, 1952), issued by the Passport Office, Department of State, printed by the US Government Printing Office. I have uploaded it to my Patriot1980 scribd.com account. The PDF is embedded below for review:
Information for Bearers of Passports (December 24, 1952), issued by the Passport Office, Department of Stat…
Did Stanely Ann Dunham obtain a Smallpox vaccination? I don’t know if she did, or not. If she did obtain a Smallpox vaccination or other inoculation, did she do so while she was pregnant? I don’t know but I do know that Smallpox Certificates of Vaccinations were valid for three (3) years beginning 8 days after the date of successful primary vaccination or, in the event of a revaccination, on the date of that revaccination. She could have been vaccinated before she became pregnant. Could she have been vaccinated while she was pregnant? I don’t know. Was there a US Government stipulation that she had to be vaccinated prior to obtaining a US Passport or traveling internationally as a US citizen? No, there was no such stipulation.
What does a Smallpox Vaccination Certificate look like? I have in my possession an original International Certificate of Vaccination [or revaccination] against Smallpox, Yellow Fever, and Cholera. It was issued to Mary Catherine Bergamo in the year in 1954. The portion of the document dealing with Smallpox was filled out while the Yellow Fever and Cholera portions were not. I have digitized the said certificate and uploaded it to my Patriot1980 scribd.com account. The PDF is embedded below for review:
Was this Mary Catherine Bergamo a real person? Did she really obtain a US Passport? Did she travel abroad internationally? Judge for yourself. I have her passport in my personal possession and have digitized it, uploaded it to my Patriot1980 scribd.com account, and embedded the PDF below for review. (Please note that the bottom of the PDF includes the Mach 22, 1954 postmarked envelope, from the Department of State, U.S.A., Passport Office, to Mary Catherine Bergamo in Pennsylvania, that the tangible US Passport was sent in.):
1954 US Passport of Mary Catherine Bergamo.
Additionally, please see the below Receipt for Payment ($1.00 fee related to US Passport), which was issued to Mary Catherine Bergamo, on 03.09.1954, by the Clerk of the United States District Court, Middle District of Pennsylvania:
Lastly, and perhaps of greater interest and significance, is a letter/note that was supplied to Mary Catherine Bergamo upon, or after, submitting her application for US Passport. The letter/note is entitled, RETENTION OF BIRTH EVIDENCE. Its states that evidence of birth (e.g., birth certificate/record) submitted in US Passport applications is retained in the Department’s files for safekeeping and is NOT returned to the applicant unless there is some significant or atypical need for the birth documentation when it cannot be obtained from original sources of issue.
I have the said letter/note in my personal possession and have digitized it for upload to my Patriot1980 scribd.com account. You may review the precise wording of the letter/note in below embedded PDF:
When did the Department of State, U.S.A./ US Passport Office, stop retaining evidence of birth submitted in US Passport applications? When I (Lucas) applied for my US Passport my birth certificate was returned to me in the USPS Mail alongside my newly issued US Passport.
Is there a chance that the US Passport Office has retained, for safekeeping, a certified-copy of Barack Hussein Obama II’s birth certificate which was submitted as evidence of birth when Obama applied for his original US Passport (not his President Passport)? If so, and if the document was Hawaiian, is it possible that it differs slightly from that which has been ‘released online’ to the American public and the rest of the world? Might there be some sort of indication of a Hawaiian birth being based on an affidavit from a family member(s)? Alternatively, is it possible that the US Passport might have retained, in it’s files, for safekeeping, a Kenyan birth certificate that was submitted in Obama’s original (or first) application for US Passport (before he was a US Senator and before he became the de facto President)?
Please share your thoughts below in the comments section. Additionally, please share this blog report with friends, coworkers and other interested parties.
Thank you.
[weekend birth certificate review – tag added on 07.30.2014]
Did this report ever receive comments? I thought it did, but I don’t exactly remember. If it did, the comments are no longer here.
I hope that our WOBIK blog is not (and has not) experiencing any loss of data.
I always considered this particular report, as well the Glenn Hubert Newport and his son. World War II hero and intrepid world traveler from Iowa. Lots of information regarding US citizens born abroad, to be exceptional and filled to capacity with thought-provoking data.
Interesting post —
— but I don’t recall leaving any comment to it, or reading any comments regarding it that were left by others.
@ Bruce:
Thanks Bruce.