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Postal Service to Issue Stamp Honoring Korean War Memorial, Armistice
Postal Service to Issue Stamp Honoring Korean War Memorial, Armistice
By Rudi Williams > American Forces Press Service > > WASHINGTON, June 23, 2003 - A photograph of a patrol of stainless > steel statues trudging through snow toward an objective is > featured on the new commemorative postage stamp honoring the > Korean War Veterans Memorial that's slated to be dedicated by the > U.S. Postal Service on July 27. > > The 37-cents stamp also honors the 50th anniversary of the > armistice that ended hostilities during the Korean War. > > The stamp's official first day of issue ceremony will take place > at the Korean War Veterans Memorial on Washington's National Mall. > > The statuary troop patrol consists of 14 soldiers, one sailor, one > airman and three Marines. The 7-foot-tall figures represent racial > and ethnic cross sections of America - whites, African- Americans, > Asians, American Indians and Hispanics. > > One Marine carries an ammunition case about the size of a lunch > box and a tripod on his shoulder. > > The airman, wearing a fur hat, is the only one not wearing a > helmet. There's also a statue of an African-American Army medic > and a South Korean soldier fighting with the American unit. > > Previous U.S. stamps have recognized the bravery of Korean War > veterans and the significance of the Korean War in U.S. and world > history. In 1985, the Postal Service issued the 22-cent "Veterans > Korea" stamp. "The Korean War," a 33-cent stamp, was issued as > part of the 1950s, and the "Celebrate the Century" stamp pane in > 1999. > > Congress authorized the building of the Korean War Veterans > Memorial in 1986 and it was dedicated on July 27, 1995. > > Shown marching in a wedge formation as if on patrol, the statues > represent troops walking grimly through a triangular field of > juniper bushes and marble barriers that symbolize the rough > terrain in Korea. Their objective, at the apex of the triangular > "field of service," is symbolized by a masted American flag. The > figures are clad in wind-blown ponchos to recall the harsh weather > troops endured during the three-year war - 1950 to 1953. > > The 19 statues reflect off a shiny, 164-foot-long black granite > wall. A computer-controlled sandblaster etched the wall's 41 > panels, creating a mural of more than 2,500 images of U.S. > personnel who supported combat troops. The etchings represent > Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force and Coast Guard personnel. > Equipment etchings include everything from rocket launchers, > vehicles and tankers, to hospital units, to chaplains of all > denominations and switchboard and radio operators. > > Faces etched into the wall came from photographs in the National > Archives and the National Air and Space Museum. Some of the people > whose images were used are still alive. > > The reflective quality of the granite creates the illusion of 38 > statues, symbolic of the 38th Parallel and the 38 months of the > war. When viewed from afar, it also creates the appearance of the > mountain ranges of Korea. > > The third element of the Korean War Veterans Memorial, an area of > remembrance, consists of a circular reflecting pool at the apex > surrounded by a grove of 40 Linden trees. "Freedom Is Not Free" is > engraved on the segment of the wall that extends into the pool > area. > > The memorial recognizes the contributions of more than 1.5 million > Americans who served in Korea during the war. It also acknowledges > the United Nations member countries that assisted South Korea in > the conflict. > > The Pool of Remembrance bears the inscription: "Our nation honors > her sons and daughters who answered the call to defend a country > they never knew and a people they never met." > > The Korean War began on June 25, 1950, when North Korean communist > troops invaded South Korea. The U.S. and 21 other nations rallied > to the defense of South Korea with military personnel, medical > support and supplies. More than 34,000 Americans had been killed > and another 103,000 wounded when an armistice was signed on July > 27, 1953. > > More than 3,000 soldiers from other United Nations countries were > killed and 16,000 were wounded. South Korean casualties vary > greatly, with estimates ranging from 50,000 to more than 400,000 > dead and hundreds of thousands wounded. Millions of civilians are > thought to have been killed or wounded. > > John W. Alli of Catonsville, Md, took the photograph on the stamp > just before a snowstorm in January 1996. Alli, who served two > tours of duty in the Persian Gulf as a Marine Corps second > lieutenant, is now a commercial airline pilot and a lieutenant > colonel aviator in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve. > > 200306237a.jpg Marine Corps Reserve Lt. Col. John W. Alli of > Catonsville, Md., took the photograph on the stamp just before a > snowstorm in January 1996 when he was a lieutenant. Photo courtesy > (c) 2002 USPS. > > Here is the Stamp........... Long Over Due.......... Sempers, Roger
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IN LOVING MEMORY OF MY HUSBAND SSgt. Roger A. One Proud Marine 1961-1977 68/69 http://www.geocities.com/thedrifter001/ |
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