Rhode Island’s federal delegation join Postal officials in welcoming Captain Matt Meilstrup, Commanding Officer of the US Coast Guard’s cutter Eagle, as it arrives at the Fort Adams State Park Pier on Friday morning.
Lisa Pontes, postmaster of Newport, hosts the welcoming ceremony with a celebration of America’s newest postage stamp, issued this week, honoring the United States Coast Guard for its role in protecting the security of the nation and advancing its vital maritime interests on the occasion of its 225th anniversary.
Fifteen million of the stamps, which feature the cutter Eagle, went on sale at post offices nationwide earlier this week.
The program will also include a presentation of the stamps to a group of Gold Star teens, high schoolers who are the surviving youth of Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps special operations personnel who have lost their lives in the line of duty. Gold Star Teens will be participating in a tour of the Eagle on Friday, August 7.
The welcoming ceremony at the pier is free and open to the public. However, just like the Coast Guard motto -- “Semper Paratus, Always Ready” --- postal officials are set to move into the park’s nearby Visitors’ Center in the event of inclement weather.
BACKGROUND:
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Who: |
Lisa Pontes, Newport Postmaster |
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When: |
10:30 AM |
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Where: |
North Adams State Park, North Pier (across from the Visitors’ Center) |
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Additional |
On the image of the new stamp, renowned aviation artist William S. Phillips depicts two icons of the Coast Guard: the cutter Eagle, a three-masted sailing ship known as “America’s Tall Ship,” and an MH-65 Dolphin helicopter, the standard rescue aircraft of the Coast Guard. During an average day, Coast Guard personnel assist more than 300 people in distress, save more than $2 million in property, board 90 large vessels for port safety checks, conduct 120 law enforcement boardings, and investigate more than a dozen marine accidents.
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