I am pleased to forward to you my recent letter to the United States Postal Service requesting that it issue a stamp honoring the Japanese American World War II Veterans. You can find the text of my letter below.
Sincerely,
Barbara Boxer
United States Senator
Citizens’ Stamp Advisory Committee
c/o Stamp Development
U.S. Postal Service
1735 North Lynn St., Suite 5013
Arlington, VA 22209-6432
I write to you today to recommend that a commemorative postage stamp be issued honoring Japanese American (Nisei) World War II Veterans. Though many of their families were unjustly incarcerated in internment camps after the attack on Pearl Harbor, more than 20,000 Japanese American men and women fought valiantly for our country and helped pave the way for full racial integration of the Armed Forces.
Of the more than 20,000 Japanese Americans enlisted in the U.S. Army, approximately 14,000 served in the 100th/442nd Regimental Combat Team which became the most decorated unit for its size and length of service in American military history. The 442nd also saw the highest percent of casualties of any unit in the Army, earning it the nickname “Purple Heart Battalion.”
In World War II, the Nisei men of the 442nd fought across Europe, waging eight major campaigns in France, Germany, and Italy. Most notably, the 442nd led a heroic drive into enemy lines to free the surviving 211 members of a Texas unit who were trapped by the Germans. Japanese American soldiers were also instrumental in liberating towns such as Bruyeres, Biffontaine, and Belvedere, and freeing Holocaust victims from one of the Dachau concentration camps in Germany.
In the Pacific Theater, Japanese Americans served the U.S. Army’s Military Intelligence Service (MIS) with great distinction. Their command of the Japanese language was especially helpful to the Allied war efforts and the MIS is credited with shortening the war in the Pacific by at least two years.
A United States postage stamp honoring the Nisei veterans of World War II would be a fitting tribute to these soldiers who served our country, and as President Franklin Roosevelt said, proved that “Americanism is a matter of the mind and heart” not a matter of race or creed.
