TUCSON — New U.S. Postal Service stamps honoring four sailors who served with bravery and distinction during the 20th century will be unveiled and offered for sale during a special Thursday, Feb. 4, event at Tucson’s Postal History Foundation, 920 N. First Ave.
An unveiling ceremony for the new commemorative postage stamps will begin at 10 a.m. The 44-cent “Distinguished Sailors” stamps include portraits of William S. Sims, Arleigh A. Burke, John McCloy, and Doris Miller.
Tucson Postmaster Carl Grigel will offer a special pictorial Tucson postmark to be applied to the stamps in celebration of their release. The new stamps will be available for purchase at the event.
Also participating in the ceremony will be Postal History Foundation volunteer and U.S. Navy veteran Edward E. Grafe of Tucson. Grafe was on active duty from 1938 to 1960 and served at Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941, aboard the USS Rigel. He was also on board the USS Missouri to witness Japan’s official surrender on Aug. 15, 1945.
The National Anthem will be performed by local singer Beverly Gibson and the Color Guard will be provided by the Navy Operational Support Center in Tucson. Following the ceremony, the Foundation’s Peggy Slusser Memorial Philatelic Library will exhibit postal memorabilia from U.S. Navy ships.
More information about the sailors honored on the stamps is below:
WILLIAM S. SIMS
Commander of U.S. Naval forces in European waters during World War I, William S. Sims (1858-1936) was an outspoken reformer and innovator who helped shape the Navy into a modern fighting force.
ARLEIGH A. BURKE
After serving as one of the top destroyer squadron commanders of World War II, Arleigh A. Burke (1901-1996) had an equally distinguished postwar career in which he played a major role in modernizing the Navy and guiding its response to the Cold War.
JOHN McCLOY
Described by a shipmate as “like a bull” who couldn’t be stopped, John McCloy (1876-1945) has the distinction of being one of the few men in the nation’s history to earn two Medals of Honor for separate acts of heroism.
DORIS MILLER
The first African American hero of World War II, Doris Miller (1919-1943) became an inspiration to generations of Americans for his actions at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.
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A self-supporting government enterprise, the U.S. Postal Service is the only delivery service that reaches every address in the nation, 150 million residences, businesses and Post Office Boxes. The Postal Service receives no tax dollars. With 36,000 retail locations and the most frequently visited website in the federal government, the Postal Service relies on the sale of postage, products and services to pay for operating expenses. Named the Most Trusted Government Agency five consecutive years and the sixth Most Trusted Business in the nation by the Ponemon Institute, the Postal Service has annual revenue of more than $68 billion and delivers nearly half the world’s mail. If it were a private sector company, the U.S. Postal Service would rank 26th in the 2008 Fortune 500.
