Japanese American soldiers of World War II have been honored with their own postal stamp.
The U.S. Postal Service issued the Go For Broke: Japanese American Soldiers of WWII stamp on June 5.
The commemorative Forever stamp honors the second-generation Japanese Americans, also known as nisei, that formed one of the most distinguished American fighting units of World War II, the all-Japanese American 100th Infantry Battalion/442nd Regimental Combat Team, whose motto was "Go for Broke," a release states.
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The stamp was dedicated during a virtual ceremony and is now being sold at post office locations nationwide and online.
"As a military veteran, I have the greatest appreciation for the more than 33,000 nisei, or second-generation Japanese Americans, that served our nation during World War II," said Donald L. Moak, a member of the U.S. Postal Service Board of Governors, who served as the dedicating official for the ceremony.
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Joining Moak to dedicate the stamp were retired Army Gen. David A. Bramlett; World War II veterans Shinye Gima, Don S. Miyada, and Yoshio Nakamura; and attorney Staci Toji.
Designed by Antonio Alcalá, the stamp is based on a photograph of a member of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team taken in 1944 at a railroad station in France.
Printed in the intaglio print method, the color scheme of the stamp is patriotic, and the type runs up the side in a manner suggestive of the vertical style in which Japanese text was traditionally written.
For a time after Japan bombed Pearl Harbor, second-generation Japanese Americans were subjected to increased scrutiny and prejudice because of their heritage, the release continues.
The Army turned to nisei to serve as translators, interpreters, and interrogators in the Pacific theater for the military intelligence service. Nearly a thousand nisei served in the 1399th Engineering Construction Battalion and more than 100 nisei women joined the Women's Army Corp. Altogether, some 33,000 Japanese Americans served in the U.S. Army during World War II.
Reach Julia LeDoux at Julia@connectingvets.com.
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