Keith Kamisugi

The text below is from an email by Wayne Osako, forwarded to me by Diane Tanaka. The Postal Service announced on September 24, 2007, that the Citizens’ Stamp Advisory Committee will be reviewing the Japanese American WWII Soldiers Stamp proposal at their next (undetermined) meeting.

We are currently in a sprint, but the race for a Nisei WWII commemorative stamp is a marathon. This present campaign is really only a year old, though individually, members have been trying on their own for a few years. Campaign founder Aiko King has been trying on her own for about five years. Volunteers have been gathering steam alongside Aiko during 2007.

We are now sprinting to collect as much support nationwide before the Postal Service’s Stamp Committee fall meeting. We will let you know as soon as we hear the date of this meeting. But until then, we ask that you accelerate your efforts of support as much as reasonably possible. We were asked by campaigners to give a tentative deadline last week and did so reluctantly. Please note that the unofficial deadline of November 1st was just a guess, and one rumor in DC this week said that the Stamp Committee meeting may convene during the next few weeks. Due to this new information, we are revising our previous November 1st estimate, and ask that supporters send letters, petitions, and resolutions as they are completed, just in case the rumor proves to be true. It’s better to err on the safe side.

After the Stamp Committee meeting this fall, the Postal Service will likely over the idea of issuing the stamp for the next year or so. Understand that there is a long road ahead of us. They may place the Nisei stamp proposal “under consideration,” and continue to think it over. They will be deciding on stamps for the years 2010 and 2011 (all stamp subjects for 2008-2009 have already been decided). Of course, our goal is for a 2010 Nisei WWII veterans stamp. That’s why we are pushing hard to do as much as we can as soon as we can to convince the Postal Service.

We encourage current and would-be supporters to help keep up the pressure on the Postal Service, and continue to campaign until the Postmaster General announces that a Nisei WWII veterans stamp is to be issued. That official announcement may not come for a couple years, so please be patient.

Our campaign will enter a long-term phase after this fall, aiming to expand through city and state resolutions, and through continued efforts to gather endorsements from individuals and organizations using petitions, postcards and letters of support.

Questions? Contact us in the campaign, (714) 534-5139. www.niseistamp.org