Friday, January 17, 2003 David Wald 973-645-5923

CORZINE CALLS FOR COMMEMORATIVE STAMPS TO HONOR ALL ARMED FORCES

Washington D.C. - Senator Jon S. Corzine (D-NJ) along with Senator John W. Warner, (D-VA) Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, introduced legislation today that would call on the Postal Service to introduce new stamps honoring the Air Force, Coast Guard and Navy. In 2000, the Postal Service recognized four U.S. Army soldiers with commemorative stamps.

"The Postal Service fittingly honored courageous men and women who fought in the Army by issuing stamps commemorating the tremendous sacrifice and unusual courage demonstrated by individual distinguished soldiers. Now it is time for men and women from the Marines, Air Force, the Coast Guard, and the Navy to be honored in a similar fashion."

On May 3, 2000 the United States Postal Service formally recognized four distinguished Army soldiers with "Distinguished Soldiers" commemorative postage stamps. These stamps pay tribute to the patriotism and uncommon valor of the four individual soldiers for sacrifices they made in defense of America.

To date, however, though the Postal Service has issued a set of four stamps recognizing the accomplishments of individual US Army soldiers, it has not followed through with similar stamp series commemorating the contributions of individual members of the armed forces from the Marines, the Navy, the Air Force, and the Coast Guard.

"As our military is being mobilized for possible military action, these stamps serve as a timely recognition of the sacrifices made by armed services personnel from all branches to defend the democratic values that we hold dear," said Senator Corzine. "These stamps will send an important message to all our military servicemen and women that we appreciate and admire their efforts to defend our great country."

Senator Corzine offered New Jersey's John Basilone as one potential commemorative stamp honoree.

Raised in Raritan, New Jersey, Basilone, enlisted in the US Army and was deployed to the Philippines where he earned the nickname "Manila John."

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For his courage under fire and profound patriotism, Basilone was the first enlisted Marine to be awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor in World War II. General Douglas MacArthur called Basilone "a one-man army." On February 19, 1945 at Iwo Jima, Basilone and four of his fellow marines were killed when an enemy mortar shell exploded.

The Military Coalition, a group that includes associations representing the Reserve Officers Association, the Veterans of Foreign Wars and other military personnel organizations, has endorsed the Corzine-Warner initiative to see commemorative stamps issued honoring exceptional service men and women from all branches of the military.