Grand Rapids MI — On Thursday, July 31st, the U.S. Postal Service along with the Irons Post Office will hold a special dedication ceremony of the ‘Medal of Honor: Korean War’ stamp at Skinner Park, Irons MI. (The official release takes place July 26th in Washington D.C.) Additionally, special tribute will be paid to Marine Veteran and Korean War Medal of Honor recipient Duane Dewey. Dewey is one of nine living recipients of 145 heroic Americans who received the honor during the Korean War.
Dewey received the nation’s highest award for valor in combat for On April 16, 1952, while being treated by a Navy corpsman near Panmunjom, Korea, Corporal Duane Dewey covered a grenade that fell on the ground beside them, saving the medic's life. On March 12, 1953, President Eisenhower presented Dewey with the Medal of Honor.
Postal officials from the Greater Michigan District Postal Service, along with elected local, state and government officials will be in attendance as part of the ceremony which includes a parade and special presentation to Mr. Dewey.
The event is open to the public. A parade will start at 1:00 p.m. at a local church parking lot ending at Skinner Park where the dedication ceremony will begin at 1:30 p.m. Skinner Park is located at 5090 10 ½ Mile Road, Irons, MI 49644.
Further information may be obtained by contacting the Irons Post Office at 231-266-5738.
The Medal of Honor: Korean War Prestige Folio is a four-page design highlighting historical photographs of the last living recipients of the Medal of Honor from the Korean War. One stamp features a photograph of the Navy version of the Medal of Honor. The other stamp features a photograph of the Army version of the Medal of Honor. The Air Force version is not pictured as it was not created until 1965. The two center pages list the names of all 145 recipients of the Medal of Honor from the Korean War. A short piece of text and a key to the names of the recipients pictured in the cover photos are included on the second page. The remaining 18 stamps are found on the back page. Art director Antonio Alcala of Alexandria, VA, designed the stamps and the new format, while working with photographs of the medals by Richard Frasier of Vienna, VA.
Available July 26th, as a set of 20 stamps, customers may purchase the stamps at usps.com/stamps, at 800-STAMP24 (800-782-6724), at Post Offices nationwide or at ebay.com/stamps on that day.
More than 6.8 million Americans served in the armed forces during Korean War; 145 were singled out to receive the Medal of Honor. Of that number, more than two-thirds died as a result of their heroic actions and received the honor posthumously. The Postal Service is issuing the stamps depicting the Medals of Honor with photographs of the living recipients on the stamp sheet as an appropriate way to recognize the living, while still paying respect to all 145 recipients whose names are included in the Medal of Honor: Korean War Forever stamp prestige folio. Thirteen recipients were alive when approached by the Postal Service to include their photographs.
Pictured clockwise from top right center are the surviving Korean War Medal of Honor recipients: Hector A. Cafferata, Jr. of Venice, FL; William R. Charette of Lake Wales, FL (d. 3/18/12); Duane E. Dewey of Irons, MI; video; Rodolfo P. Hernandez video of Fayetteville, NC (d. 12/21/13); Thomas Jerome Hudner, Jr. video of Concord, MA; Einar H. Ingman, Jr. of Irma, WI; Hiroshi H. Miyamura video of Gallup, NM; Ola L. Mize video of Gadsden, AL (d. 3/12/14); Ronald E. Rosser video of Roseville, OH; Tibor Rubin video of Garden Grove, CA; Robert E. Simanek video of Farmington Hills, MI; James L. Stone video of Arlington, TX (d. 11/9/12); and, Ernest E. West video of Wurtland, KY.
Sadly, William R. Charette, James L. Stone, Rodolfo P. Hernandez, and Ola L. Mize died before the stamps could be issued. Their photographs are still included, as they were alive at the time of the stamp proposal.
The Nation’s Highest Award for Valor in Combat
The Medal of Honor, the nation’s highest award for valor in combat, is presented “for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of life, above and beyond the call of duty.”
The idea for the Medal of Honor was conceived during the first year of the Civil War. Men were fighting for their country, yet the nation had no formal system for recognizing or rewarding acts of heroism. Then a senator from Iowa, James W. Grimes, introduced a bill to “promote the efficiency of the Navy” by distributing “medals of honor.” President Abraham Lincoln signed the bill into law on December 21, 1861. Lincoln signed a similar measure on behalf of the U.S. Army on July 12, 1862, and the country had two Medals of Honor: one for sailors and one for soldiers. By the time the Civil War ended, 1,525 medals had been awarded, including one to Army surgeon Mary Walker, the only woman ever to receive the Medal of Honor.
Because it was the country’s only military medal, the Medal of Honor was awarded more freely at first. But after World War I broke out, the Army and Navy created a series of new decorations to recognize different degrees of accomplishment, including the Distinguished Service Cross, the Navy Cross, and the Citation Star, later replaced by the Silver Star. As a result, only 124 Medals of Honor were awarded for service in World War I.
There are three similar, yet distinct, versions of the Medal of Honor, one for each military department (Army, Navy and Air Force). The medals are similar in that each consists of a variation of a five-pointed star worn around the neck on a light blue ribbon. The Navy version is awarded to those serving in the Navy and Marine Corps, and during times of war, to members of the Coast Guard. Although not required by any military regulation, according to tradition and the nature of the award, even a four-star general will salute a private who wears the Medal of Honor. Visit the Congressional Medal of Honor Society website at http://www.cmohs.org for information on all Medal of Honor recipients.
Ordering First-Day-of-Issue Postmarks
Customers have 60 days to obtain the first-day-of-issue postmark by mail. They may purchase new stamps at local Post Offices, at usps.com/stamps or by calling 800-STAMP-24. They should affix the stamps to envelopes of their choice, address the envelopes to themselves or others, and place them in larger envelopes addressed to:
Medal of Honor: Korean War
Special Cancellations
Arlington Main Office
3118 Washington Blvd
Arlington, VA 22201-9998
After applying the first-day-of-issue postmark, the Postal Service will return the envelopes through the mail. There is no charge for the postmark up to a quantity of 50. For more than 50, there is a 5-cent charge per postmark. All orders must be postmarked by Sept. 24, 2014.
Ordering First-Day Covers
The Postal Service also offers first-day covers for new stamp issues and Postal Service stationery items postmarked with the official first-day-of-issue cancellation. Each item has an individual catalog number and is offered in the quarterly USA Philatelic catalog online at usps.com/shop or by calling 800-782-6724. Customers may request a free catalog by calling 800-782-6724 or writing to:
U.S. Postal Service
Catalog Request
PO Box 219014
Kansas City, MO 64121-9014
Philatelic Products
There are nine philatelic products available for this stamp issue:
- 587406 Press Sheet w/Die cuts, $29.40 (print quantity 1,000).
- 587408 Press Sheets w/o Die cuts, $29.40 (print quantity 1,500).
- 587410 Keepsake w/Digital Color Postmark (Set of 2), $13.95.
- 587416 First-Day Cover (Set of 2), $1.86.
- 587421 Digital Color Postmark (Set of 2), $3.28.
- 587424 Framed Art, $39.95.
- 587430 Ceremony Program, $6.95.
- 587431 Stamped Deck Card, $0.95.
- 587432 Stamped Deck Card w/Digital Color Postmark, $1.99.
Customers may view many of this year’s other stamps on Facebook facebook.com/USPSStamps, Twitter@USPSstamps, Pinterest pinterest.com/uspsstamps, Instagraminstagram.com/uspostalservice or on uspsstamps.com, the Postal Service’s online site for information on upcoming stamp subjects, first-day-of-issue events and other philatelic news.
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