Decorated Soldiers Remembered for Selflessness and Leadership

Leading American ground troops to victory and displaying remarkable bravery and selflessness set the four men featured on the Distinguished Soldiers stamps (2000) apart. Their commitment to the U.S. Army led to major contributions during World War I and World War II, and has made them forever a part of our nation’s history.

John Leonard Hines was born in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia, on May 21, 1868. He graduated from the U.S. Military Academy in 1891.

After the United States entered World War I, Gen. John J. Pershing assigned Hines to the American Expeditionary Forces in France. An effective battle leader, Hines commanded the 4th Division in September 1918 during the American operations at Saint Mihiel and in the Meuse-Argonne. During World War I, Hines experienced a meteoric rise in rank as he was promoted from major to lieutenant colonel in May 1917, then to colonel, brigadier general, and, in August 1918, to major general. He assumed successively larger commands, from regiment to brigade, division, and finally, corps.

Hines served the U.S. Army with distinction for more than forty years in a full range of line, staff, and combat positions, advancing to the highest position in the Army when he succeeded General Pershing as Chief of Staff in 1924. Hines died on October 13, 1968, at the age of 100.

Alvin Cullum York was born on December 13, 1887, in the rural Tennessee community of Pall Mall. When the United States entered World War I in 1917, York was drafted into the Army.

York was awarded the Medal of Honor and promoted from corporal to sergeant for his single-handed capture of German soldiers and their battery of machine guns in the Argonne forest on October 8, 1918. At that time, he was serving in the 82nd Division.

Sergeant York, a movie based on York’s life, was released in 1941. Gary Cooper won an Academy Award for his portrayal of the famous doughboy. Sergeant York died in Nashville, Tennessee, on September 2, 1964.

Omar Nelson Bradley was born in Clark, Missouri, on February 12, 1893. Bradley graduated from the U.S. Military Academy in 1915. He was the first in his class to receive a general’s star in 1941. After serving stateside during World War II, Bradley, then a major general, was assigned to the European forces under Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower.

In September 1943, Bradley was given command of the First Army after successfully leading troops in North Africa and during the invasion of Sicily, and led the First Army during the Allied landing in Normandy in June 1944. A few months later, Bradley became commanding general of the Twelfth Army Group—at 1.3 million strong, it was the largest American field command in history.

In 1948, Bradley was named Army Chief of Staff. He became the first chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in 1949. Bradley received his fifth star in September 1950. Bradley died in New York City on April 8, 1981.

Audie Leon Murphy was born on a sharecropper’s farm in northeast Texas on June 20, 1924. Murphy enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1942 and served in the 3rd Infantry Division. On January 26, 1945, Murphy saved his company by single-handedly stopping a German attack during the Reduction of the Colmar Pocket in Alsace-Lorraine. For his bravery, he was awarded the Medal of Honor, the nation’s highest award for gallantry in action.

Murphy was the most decorated U.S. combat soldier of World War II. His decorations include the Medal of Honor, the Distinguished Service Cross, the Silver Star with one Oak Leaf Cluster, the French Legion of Honor, and the Belgian Croix de Guerre with Palm. He also received a battlefield commission promoting him to 2nd lieutenant.

After World War II, Murphy appeared in numerous films, most notably The Red Badge of Courage (1951) and To Hell and Back (1955). Based on Murphy’s autobiography, To Hell and Back featured his experiences in the war. Audie Murphy died in a plane crash near Roanoke, Virginia, on May 28, 1971.

These men, along with millions of other soldiers who have come after them, helped make America the country it is today. Without their tireless dedication, our world might be very different. How would you choose to honor our servicemen and servicewomen?

The Conflict in Korea

From June 1950 to July 1953, the United States was engaged in conflict with North Korea and the Soviet Union in what would be known as the Korean War.

The U.S., as part of the United Nations’ forces, enacted an immediate military response to Soviet-backed North Korea’s invasion of South Korea on June 25, 1950. For two months U.N. troops, led by United States general Douglas MacArthur, were forced to retreat from the border, establishing a stronghold in the southwestern portion of the peninsula.

Eventually the North Korean army was driven back across the 38th parallel—the dividing line between the two countries. For three years, U.S. troops defended South Korea’s independence and the world’s right to democracy.

On July 27, 1953, an armistice was reached. The Cold War positions adopted by the United States and Soviet Union as a result were drawn hard and fast along the tensely guarded 38th parallel.

Fighting half a world away, many Americans were disconnected from the conflict, but the effects of the Korean War were known all to well to the veterans and those who sacrificed their lives in the heat of battle. We commend all of the U.S. servicemen who answered the call of duty and fought for freedom.

In 1985, the U.S. Postal Service celebrated the brave veterans of the war with the Veterans of Korea stamps. As part of the Celebrate the Century series on the 1950s pane, a stamp honoring the Korean War was issued in 1999.

What sort of impact did the Korean War have on you and your family?

Honoring Our Military Academies

The U.S. Postal Service has a tradition of honoring the nation’s military academies.  The Naval Academy, for example, was honored in 1937 (have you added the stamp to your collection?) and again in 1995 with this beautiful stamp:

In 2002, USPS issued this stamp to recognize the bicentennial of the United States Military Academy:

Thomas Jefferson signed legislation establishing a military academy at West Point, New York, in 1802. It was located at the site of a critical defensive position during the Revolutionary War. Holding West Point prevented the British from gaining control of the vital Hudson River Valley and dividing the colonies in two. Because of the importance of this location, George Washington declared West Point to be the key to the continent. The academy at West Point also featured on another stamp issued in 1937.

In 2004, USPS issued this stamp to mark the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the United States Air Force Academy, whose mission is “to inspire and develop outstanding young men and women to become Air Force officers with knowledge, character, and discipline; motivated to lead the world’s greatest aerospace force in service to this nation.” A contemporary photograph of the Cadet Chapel appears on the stamp:

Join us all month as we recognize more of the contributions made by our nation’s military as part of National Military Appreciation Month. What subjects would you like to see highlighted? Let us know in the comments.

A True Badge of Distinction

May is National Military Appreciation Month, and we’ll be celebrating the noble acts of the brave men and women who have defended our country all month long here on Stamp of Approval.

The 2012 Purple Heart with Ribbon stamp honors the sacrifices of the men and women who serve in the U.S. military. The Purple Heart is awarded in the name of the President of the United States to members of the U.S. military who have been wounded or killed in action. According to the Military Order of the Purple Heart, an organization for combat-wounded veterans, the medal is “the oldest military decoration in the world in present use and the first award made available to a common soldier.”

Established by General George Washington during the Revolutionary War, the badge of distinction for meritorious action—a heart made of purple cloth—was discontinued after the war. In 1932, on the 200th anniversary of Washington’s birth, the decoration was reinstated and redesigned as a purple heart of metal bordered by gold, suspended from a purple and white ribbon. In the center of the medal is a profile bust of George Washington beneath his family coat of arms.

The 2012 stamp has been redesigned to emphasize the brilliant purple appearing on the medal and in its ribbon. Featuring a photograph taken by Ira Wexler of the Purple Heart medal awarded during World War II to 1st Lieutenant Arthur J. Rubin (1917-1978), designer Jennifer Arnold reworked the 2011 design by slightly enlarging the Purple Heart medal and placing it on a pure white background.

The Purple Heart with Ribbon stamp is being issued as a Forever® stamp later this year. Stay tuned for information on the date and location of issuance!