The Stamp Our Story Committee successfully campaigned for a postage stamp honoring the Japanese American soldiers of World War II, which was issued in June 2021 after 15 years of lobbying. Last week, the campaign made the following announcement.
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The U.S. Postal Service is currently considering a U.S. commemorative postage stamp proposal that would honor the late Sen. Daniel K. Inouye. The Stamp Our Story Committee was recently informed that it is now officially under consideration, which is the final step prior to being selected.
Please write brief letters of support, and ask your lawmakers to do the same, and mail them to:
U.S. Postmaster General Louis DeJoy
Attn: Citizens Stamp Advisory Committee
475 L’Enfant Plaza SW, Room 3300
Washington, DC 20260-3501
Sen. Inouye was born in Honolulu, Hawaii on Sept. 7, 1924, to Japanese immigrant parents, and rose to the highest levels of U.S. government during his lifetime. As a high school senior, he witnessed the Pearl Harbor attack on Sunday, Dec. 7, 1941. As soon as he was able after graduation, he enlisted in the U.S. Army. He would serve with utmost valor while serving during World War II in the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, for which he was awarded the Medal of Honor.
When Hawaii gained statehood in 1959, he became its first member of the U.S. House of Representatives. He was later elected to the U.S. Senate in 1962, where he would serve until he passed away on Dec. 17, 2012. He never lost an election in the 58 years that he was an elected official.
He was the first Japanese American to serve in the House, and first in the Senate as well. He became the most senior senator during his tenure, and was the president pro tempore of the Senate, making him third in the presidential line of succession after the the vice president and speaker of the House. He was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2013.
Sen. Inouye was an inspiration to the Stamp Our Story campaign for the Go For Broke Forever Stamp. He was the first lawmaker that the campaign founders wrote a letter to, seeking support for a Nisei soldiers stamp. He responded by encouraging the founders to continue to campaign for the stamp.
Website: www.StampOurStory.org