Purple Heart stamp top be issued May 30

[thedrifter]

Purple Heart stamp top be issued May 30


ASSOCIATED PRESS

WASHINGTON ? The Purple Heart, the nation's oldest military decoration, will be commemorated on a new postage stamp to be issued May 30.

"With the issuance of this stamp, the Postal Service, along with the rest of America, can pay tribute to the men and women whose sacrifices have given all of us a country that is truly the 'land of the free and the home of the brave,'" Postmaster General John E. Potter said in a statement.

Originally a "badge of distinction for meritorious action," the Purple Heart now is awarded to members of the U.S. military who have been wounded or killed in action.

The formal first day of issue ceremony will be held at Mount Vernon, George Washington's estate in Virginia.

Washington ordered creation of the Purple Heart in 1782, during the Revolutionary War. It was known as the Badge of Military Merit and consisted of a heart-shaped badge of purple cloth. The award was not continued after the Revolutionary War, but was reinstated by the War Department on the 200th anniversary of Washington's birth, Feb. 22, 1932.

The current decoration consists of a purple heart of metal bordered by gold and suspended from a purple and white ribbon. In the center of the medal is a profile of Washington beneath his family coat of arms.

The Military Order of the Purple Heart, the organization for combat-wounded veterans, says it is the oldest military decoration in the world still in regular use and was the first decoration available to the common soldier.

The 37-cent stamp features a photograph of a Purple Heart awarded in 1968 to James Loftus Fowler, a Marine lieutenant colonel, following action in Vietnam.

The new stamp will be available at post offices nationwide beginning May 30.





On the Net:

U.S. Postal Service: www.usps.com



Sempers,

Roger