The U.S. Postal Service will stop selling the Go For Broke Japanese American Soldiers of World War II commemorative postage stamp sometime this year.
The remaining inventory will be destroyed, postal sources recently shared with the Stamp Our Story Committee, the community group that led the 15-year campaign for the stamp.
All commemorative stamps are printed in limited quantities and sold for a limited time, typically one to two years. This coming June will mark two years since the Go For Broke Soldiers Stamp was first issued in Los Angeles on June 3, 2021.
“We strongly encourage interested individuals and organizations to buy up the remaining Go For Broke Stamps — let ’s sell out the stamp!” said Wayne Osako, chair of the Stamp Our Story Committee. “This is a wonderful way to show your support for the Nisei soldiers’ legacy, and to send a message to Washington that more stories like ours ought to be shared.”
The committee hopes that the success of the stamp will lead to a future Sen. Daniel Inouye commemorative stamp and others featuring AAPI subjects. There is an ongoing community effort for a Inouye stamp proposal, currently under consideration at the USPS. Inouye, a decorated World War II veteran who lost an arm in combat, represented Hawaii in the U.S. Senate from 1963 until his death in 2012.
“We would love for people in the community to buy the stamps, particularly those whose loved ones and friends are Nisei soldiers,” Osako said. “Once the stamps are gone, they are gone — the Postal Service does not reprint nor reissue commemorative stamps.”
The USPS has not announced when it will cease selling the stamp. Once the Postal Service stops selling them, the stamp resellers will sell some but raise prices. Anyone can buy the stamp, and legally resell them later at their own price. They can also be resold as part of fundraising.
To continue to raise awareness of the Nisei soldiers’ legacy this year and beyond, the Stamp Our Story Committee is releasing a short documentary film about the story behind the stamp. The 18-minute film, titled “Stamp Our Story: Honoring America’s Nisei Veterans,” will show at various film festivals. The Films of Remembrance and DisOrient film festivals both recently announced that the documentary will be among their featured films this year.
The committee is also urging people to keep sending letters to the USPS and to their congressional lawmakers asking them to issue the Inouye stamp.
In addition, the committee is calling for organizations interested in holding a special event with the Go For Broke Soldiers Stamp pictorial postmark. Manzanar National Historic Site and the Poston Community Alliance both held such events with hundreds of participants to commemorate the Nisei soldiers’ story in 2022. Interested organizations can reach out to the committee for details. Contact Osako at wtosako@gmail.com.
Website: http://niseistamp.org/