Stamps Honoring Marines

Postal service to release exclusive USMC Stamps
Submitted by: MCRD San Diego
MARINE CORPS RECRUIT DEPOT SAN DIEGO, Calif. (Oct. 28, 2005) — In honor of the 230th anniversary of the United States Marine Corps, the U.S. Postal Service is scheduled to release the U.S. Marine Corps Heritage Collection of four distinguished Corps postage stamps.
Purchase of the stamps will be available exclusively on Marine Corps installations Nov. 10 at $7.40 for a book of 20 stamps. Other post offices will begin sale of the stamps on Nov. 11.
Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, Calif., and Marine Barracks, Washington, D.C., are scheduled to host the unveiling ceremonies Nov. 10. Brig. Gen. Michael Lehnert, Commanding General Marine Corps Installations West, is scheduled to speak at the West Coast event.
Each of the stamps features a picture of the respective Marine Corps hero and the military insignia of the unit with which he is most identified.

The John Basilone stamp features a detail of a 1943 photograph of Basilone and the insignia of the 5th Marine Division. Basilone served and died with the 1st Battalion, 27th Marine Regiment, 5th Marine Division during the invasion of Iwo Jima in February 1945.
The Daniel J. Daly stamp features a detail from a circa 1919 photograph of Daly and the insignia of the 73rd Machine Gun Company, which is a variation on the Army’s 2nd Infantry Division insignia. During World War I, Daly served as a Marine with the 73rd Machine Gun Company in the 2nd Infantry Division.
The John A. Lejeune stamp features a detail from a circa 1924 photograph of Lejeune. The stamp also depicts the insignia of the Army’s 2nd Infantry Division, which Lejeune commanded during World War I.
The Lewis B. Puller stamp features a photograph of Puller at Koto-ri, Korea, in 1950, and the insignia of the 1st Marine Division. Puller was a battalion commander and regimental commander with the 1st Marine Division during World War II and the Korean War.
Basilone, also known as “Manila John,” fought on Guadalcanal with the 1st Marine Division in 1942 and received the Medal of Honor for his heroism.
Daly is one of only two Marines in history to receive the Medal of Honor twice for separate acts of heroism.
Lt. Gen. Lejuene was the first Marine to command an Army Division and later became the 13th Commandant of the Marine Corps.
Lt. Gen. Puller was a battalion and regimental commander with 1st Marine Division during World War II and the Korean War, and he earned five Navy Crosses.
The commemorative stamps will be printed only once and will be available for one year after being issued, according to USPS officials.
The Marine Corps specially produced two postmarks of the 1st Marine Division Fleet Marine Force unit insignia and the Camp Pendleton base insignia for the stamps. The postmarks are specific to Camp Pendleton and will only be available there and Washington, D.C.
“The special postmarks will be available on base for 30 days after the event and never again,” said Mike Cannone, a USPS public affairs representative.
Also available for purchase is a U.S. Marine Corps silver dollar with a memorial of the raising of the flag on Iwo Jima on one side and the Corp’s emblem on the other side.
“We are honored to be the first military service to receive a commemorative coin issued by the United States Mint. And we are particularly pleased that proceeds from this coin will help build the Marine Corps National Museum in Quantico (Va.),” said Marine Corps Assistant Commandant, Gen. William L. Nyland.