The U.S. Postal Service’s stamp selection body, called the Citizens’ Stamp Advisory Committee (CSAC), is meeting this month to decide on upcoming stamps. The Postal Service has informed our campaign that one of our proposals is among about 30 finalists being considered. The CSAC meeting is not open to the public. Our campaign is awaiting their decision due by the end of the month.
The Postal Service maintains an internal policy preventing new stamps that directly honor veterans groups. They allow stamps honoring individual veterans, military events, medals, and so on. But largely due to the controversy of judging veterans groups against each other, they prohibit all proposals for military units or groups. In the past, prior to this policy, there were at least two stamps that honor veterans’ groups: “Hispanic Americans: A Proud Heritage” (1984), and “Buffalo Soldiers” (1994). But the Postal Service put a stop to all such future stamps due to the problems associated with considering units.
As a result, we are backing a proposal featuring the National Japanese American Memorial to Patriotism During World War II, which is located in Washington, D.C., very close to Capitol Hill. This Memorial is part of the National Park Service. Here, the veterans are the cornerstone of the overarching Japanese American story. The Memorial includes the veterans’ families and friends who were incarcerated in the internment camps while they were fighting abroad. This stamp proposal is the one being considered by the CSAC as a possible future commemorative stamp.
For more information, read the National Park Service description of the Memorial:
http://www.nps.gov/wwii/learn/historyculture/japanese-americans-at-war.htm .
For photos and additional information, view Nina Akamu’s website. Ms. Akamu is the Memorial crane artist:
http://www.studioequus.com/njamimage.html.
Our campaign continues! There are over 10 years of grassroots efforts across the country and around the world supporting a stamp that honors the Japanese American World War II veterans’ story. We are persevering in the endeavor until it becomes a reality.