WASHINGTON — In recognition of the recent Congressional Gold Medal awarded to the World War II Nisei soldiers, the Japanese American Veterans Association is proposing to the U.S. Postal Service that a commemorative stamp series be issued for the units that received the medal.
JAVA President Gerald Yamada sent a letter outlining this proposal on Jan. 21 to Chairwoman Jean Picker Firstenberg of the Citizens’ Stamp Advisory Committee of the USPS. He wrote, “This stamp series would be for military groups that have been awarded the Congressional Gold Medal for their service during World War II and would include the Nisei soldiers made up of the 100th Infantry Battalion, 442nd Regimental Combat Team and the Military Intelligence Service; Tuskegee Airmen; Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP); and the Navajo Code Talkers.
“To save on design costs, JAVA suggests that the design of the Congressional Gold Medals be used for the stamp design for each group. Each CGM design has been vetted by the U.S. Mint and accepted by each group.
“The commemorative stamps for these groups should be printed so that the stamps can be distributed with all four groups on a stamp sheet or printed individually so that stamp sheets can be ordered for each of the four groups.”
In an official statement endorsing Yamada’s proposal, the Japanese American WWII Veterans Stamp Campaign, co-chaired by Fusa Takahashi, Chiz Ohira, Aiko King, and Wayne Osako, said, “We fully support the commemorative stamp proposal from JAVA that is based upon honoring veterans who have earned the Congressional Gold Medal. This would be a wonderful tribute to American veterans who have clearly made their mark on history. We urge the U.S. Postal Service to continue its tradition of recognizing the contributions of our nation’s veterans.”
Veterans and civic organizations are encouraged to send letters supporting this approach to: Chairwoman Jean Picker Firstenberg, Citizens’ Stamp Advisory Committee, c/o Stamp Development, U.S. Postal Service, 475 L’Enfant Plaza SW, Room 3300, Washington, DC 20260-3501.
Copies of each letter should be sent to Gerald Yamada, President, Japanese American Veterans Association, 10316 Mountington Court, Vienna, VA 22182 or emailed to gyamada@goingforwardstrategies.com.