Campaign News
May 17, 2009
Postal Service maintains annual stance on internal guideline at April stamp meeting; Campaign to continue
The Postal Service notified the Japanese American Veterans Association (JAVA) that as of their latest Citizens' Stamp Advisory Committee (CSAC) meeting on April 23-24, they continue to maintain their internal guideline restricting commemorative stamps that honor "units, sub-units, and divisions of the military." Though the stamp proposal was not officially considered at the meeting, the Postal Service did acknowledge that their Stamp Committee reviewed recent letters of support at the meeting. Stamp proposals which are not accepted can, by Postal Service policy, be reconsidered annually. Each year, the Committee has been looking at our proposal, but so far has decided not to change its stance.
The stamp campaign co-chairs, Aiko King, Fusa Takahashi, Chiz Ohira, and Wayne Osako, hold firm to the belief that the Japanese American (Nisei) WWII veterans story is worthy of a future commemorative U.S. postage stamp, and will continue to campaign. The six state resolutions for the proposal, two of which recently passed this year (in Washington and Oregon), attest to the level of support the stamp continues to receive.
An alternative proposal for a stamp to honor the Japanese American Memorial to Patriotism was announced by the Postal Service in December 2008. The proposal was generated within the Postal Service in response to the grassroots campaign for the Japanese American (Nisei) WWII veterans stamp proposal. While the campaign co-chairs are not against a Memorial to Patriotism stamp on its own merits, they hold firm to the original mandate from supporters that a commemorative stamp prominently features the veterans story. The Memorial to Patriotism is not a war memorial, and as the Memorial proposal currently stands, does not guarantee that the veterans would be highlighted at all.
The next Citizens' Stamp Advisory Committee meeting will be held in July. Congressman Honda's second Congressional letter of support is currently being circulated until Friday, May 22nd (see below). Congress Members from both the House and Senate can sign on in support this week. We urge you to contact your friends and family and seek support for this letter by asking your Congress Members to sign. See the bulletin section below for more details.
Take Action!
REMEMBER to sign the free, Online Petition to support the campaign.
Important Note: This internet petition is separate from the handwritten petitions, and we encourage you to sign both. The online petition allows you to leave comments. You can check out what other signers have written daily. Many give personal testimony in support of the stamp proposal (click on the "Signers" tab at the top of the petition to see them).
More questions?
Contact the campaign at (714) 534-5139