# 2765a-j - 1993 29c World War II, 10 single stamps

U.S. #2765a-j

1993 29¢ Turning the Tide

World War II 50th Anniversary Series

·      Third in a series of five sheetlets commemorating the 50th anniversary of World War II

Stamp Category:  Commemorative

Set:  WWII 50th Anniversary

Value:  29¢ per stamp; $2.90 per set

First Day of Issue:  May 31, 1993

First Day City(s):  Washington, DC

Quantity Issued (if known):  120,000,000 Stamps (12,000,000 sheetlets)

Printed by:  Bureau of Engraving and Printing

Printing Method:  Offset printing in plates of 80; intaglio printing in sleeves of 160

Format:  Produced in sheetlet of 10 stamps arranged in two strips of five surrounding world map (map not included in this set – see US #2765)

Perforations:  11.1

Why these stamps were issued:  By the mid-1980s, Americans were already writing in to the Citizens’ Stamp Advisory Committee (CSAC) suggesting stamps honoring the upcoming anniversary of World War II.  The challenge would be creating enough stamps to appropriately honor the war, while not adding an extra 100 stamps to each year’s schedule.

To aid in this process, CSAC created a three-member World War II subcommittee to figure out how to select subjects for the stamps.  The committee then worked with Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine historians to develop a list of appropriate topics.  By April 1986 they had a list they believed would “properly recognize and honor all facets of national endeavor that contributed to victory.”  They also selected the themes for each year and recommended that the center of each sheet feature a world map surrounded by 10 stamps honoring significant events.

At various times, the group considered issuing a variety of stamps such as singles, se-tenant blocks of four, and souvenir sheets.  They also considered beginning the series in 1989, which would have marked the 50th anniversary of the start of the war in Europe.  In the end, they decided to produce five 10-stamp sheets commemorating the years the US was in the war – 1941 to 1945.

About the stamp designs:  British-born artist and World War II veteran William H. Bond of Virginia was selected to create the art for the stamps.  He’d never designed stamps before, and this set of 50 was quite a challenge.  The stamps had to be immediately recognizable for each event, and their designs and color schemes had to vary enough that they didn’t look similar, but also appear balanced across the sheet.  It was also extremely important that the illustrations be accurate as millions of people who had participated in the war would be looking at them with a very critical eye.  Bond took inspiration from war-time photos, with some stamps being nearly identical and others a combination of multiple photos.

·      Allied forces battle German U-boats – Stamp shows a North Atlantic convoy consisting of a destroyer escort and two cargo ships.  The destroyer was based on the USS Martin H. Ray, while the other two ships were based on a photo in the book Journey into Danger.  This stamp was a favorite of art director Howard Paine and Bond said it “reminded me of early morning at sea.”

·      Military medics treat the wounded – Stamp shows an Army nurse checking a wounded soldier with a stethoscope with an IV bag hanging nearby.  Bond used the Walter Reed Hospital Medical Museum to ensure his illustrations of the medical equipment were accurate and verified the nurse’s uniform’s authenticity with the US Army Center of Military History.

·      Sicily attacked by Allied forces – Stamp shows a DUKW (called a “duck”) amphibious vehicle, three soldiers, and landing craft, infantry LCI-231 offshore.  Bond had a special connection to this stamp, as he had landed at Sicily on July 17, 1943.  His initial design pictured mules bringing supplies ashore, but he was asked to remove them as they made the stamp appear more like a rural scene.   

·      B-24s hit Ploesti refineries – Stamp pictures two B-24 Liberator bombers flying just above three smoke stacks with smoke and fire in the background.  Bond referenced photos taken by automatic cameras mounted on the aircraft that participated in the bombings.  Among these photos was one picturing the plane Sandman flying over the Astra Romana refinery. 

·      V-mail delivers letters from home – Stamp depicts three soldiers looking through a batch of mail.  Bond had considered picturing a piece of mail itself, but wasn’t happy with the final image. 

·      Italy invaded by Allies – Stamp pictures a PT boat setting a smoke screen behind an amphibious command ship.  This was to protect the ship from torpedoes from German E-boats, which filled the waters around Salerno.  The USS Ancon served as the model for the PT boat.  This stamp was also of special significance to Bond as he had participated in the invasion of Italy and helped establish a signal station in Salerno.

·      Bonds and stamps help war effort – This stamp shows two war savings bonds and three war savings stamps picturing the famed Minuteman.  The stamps pictured are WS7 and WS8. 

·      “Willie and Joe” keep spirits high – Stamp shows an illustration of Bill Mauldin’s beloved comic characters Willie and Joe in front of a simplified skyline of a city engulfed in war.  The yellow and orange tones in the sky are meant to represent the flames of war.  Bond created the illustrations of Willie and Joe and the USPS sent them to their creator, Bill Mauldin, for approval.  Mauldin was initially unhappy with the illustrations and worked with Bond to adjust them so they were more accurate representations of his characters.

·      Gold Stars mark World War II losses – Stamp pictures a Gold Star flag handing in the window of a home with the blind drawn half-way down.  Bond had to search extensively to find a Gold Star flag to use for reference, and ultimately used a photo from the Lyndon B. Johnson Library. 

·      Marines assault Tarawa – The final stamp in the set pictures Marines running and crawling across a beach toward a line of palm trees with an explosion in the background.  With several other amphibious battles depicted in the series, Bond wanted to make sure it looked different, so it was one of the few to picture an explosion. 

About the printing process:  These stamps were printed on the six-color offset, three-color intaglio webfed D press.

First Day City:  These stamps were issued on Memorial Day in a ceremony in the East Room of the White House.  This was President Bill Clinton’s first stamp dedication and during the ceremony he signed a proclamation making the following week one of national observance of the 50th anniversary of World War II. 

About the World War II 50th Anniversary Series:  Issued between 1991 and 1995, this series commemorates battles and events at home and abroad from the years America was involved in the war. 

US #2559a-j – 1941: A World at War

US #2697a-j – 1942: Into Battle

US #2838a-j – 1994: Road to Victory

US #2981a-j – 1945: Victory at Last

You can also get the complete series here.

History the stamps represent: 

Allied Forces Battle German U-Boats

During the early years of the war, “Unterseeboote”, German submarines more commonly referred to as “U-boats,” were the terror of the seas as they prowled the Atlantic, torpedoing any Allied ships they spotted.  Each month they sank thousands of tons of Allied shipping. Gradually, the Allied forces overcame the threat of U-boats. Using a convoy system.  By 1943, the Allies were sinking the U-boats faster than Germany could replace them, and the crisis in the Atlantic had passed.

Military Medics Treat the Wounded

In almost any war, medics are the unsung heroes and World War II was no different. Risking their own lives, doctors and nurses worked tirelessly to save the lives of others.  Using a leapfrog strategy, the hospitals were rotated to provide the troops with freshly rested doctors and nurses. As the troops moved forward, the last hospital in line would “leap” forward, allowing the first hospital, which had been actively helping the wounded, to rest and replenish their supplies.

Sicily Attacked by Allied Forces

On July 10, 1943, Allied forces embarked on “Operation Husky”, the largest amphibious operation in history. Ignorant of the enemy’s plans to attack Sicily, the Axis forces were ill-prepared on that fateful day. Coastal defenses, manned mainly by Sicilians unwilling to turn their homeland into a battleground, rapidly collapsed.  On July 25, Mussolini fell from power and Italy’s new premier Pietro Badaglio began secret peace talks with the Allies.

B-24s Hit Ploesti Refineries

While the Allies kept streams of oil moving throughout the war, The Axis powers depended upon reserves built up in peacetime and supplies seized in occupied countries.  When German U-boats began attacking tankers carrying oil from Venezuela and Texas, the Allies retaliated by striking hard at the Axis' main sources of oil.  On August 1, 1943 American planes took off for an attack on the Ploesti oil refineries - the most important source of oil available to the Axis.  Eventually, the Nazi's lack of oil for gasoline, rather than a lack of planes, allowed the Allied forces to gain air superiority and win the war.

V-Mail Delivers Letters from Home

Recognizing that correspondence to and from the Armed Forces in battle zones was vital to the war effort, the Postal Department introduced its V-Mail Service. Letters written on special forms were transferred to microfilm, which was then flown by plane to its destination. Upon arrival, the letters were reproduced in miniature on photographic paper for delivery.