1994 29c WWII: US Troops Clear Saipan Bunkers

# 2838g - 1994 29c WWII: US Troops Clear Saipan Bunkers

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U.S. #2838g
1994 Troops Clear Saipan Bunkers, 1944 – World War II

 

  • Part of the fourth souvenir sheet issued to commemorate the 50th anniversary of World War II
  • Sheet includes 10 stamps plus a world map

 

Stamp Category:  Commemorative
Series:  World War II
Value: 29¢ (Individual stamps), First Class Mail Rate
First Day of Issue:  June 6, 1994
First Day City:  Two main ceremonies in Washington, DC and  St. Mere Egilse, Normandy, with additional smaller events in:  Fort Dix, New Jersey; Salt Lake City, Utah; New York, New York; Clarksville, Tennessee; Fort Sam Houston, Lubbock, San Antonio, and Houston, Texas; Bangor, Maine; Charleston, South Carolina; Virginia Beach and Richmond, Virginia; and Fort Campbell, Kentucky
Quantity Issued (if known):  120,600,000
Printed by:  Bureau of Engraving and Printing
Printing Method:  Offset, Intaglio
Format:  Sheetlets of 10 (arranged in 2 strips of 5, one across the top and one across the bottom of the sheetlet, with world map in between)
Perforations:  11.1 (Eureka off-line perforator)
Tagging:  Overall, large block covering stamps and part of selvage

Why the stamp was issued:  This souvenir sheet was issued to commemorate the 50th anniversary of World War II.  It was the fourth in a series of five that were issued over the course of five years.

About the stamp design:  Shows a flamethrower used extensively during the campaign in Saipan.  The yellow and orange flame allows the black “29 USA” to show up easier than it does on some of the other stamps on the souvenir sheet.

First Day City:  The stamps were dedicated in two ceremonies on June 6th:  one at the National Postal Museum in Washington, DC, and one in the town of St. Mere Egilse in Normandy.  First Day of Issue postmarks read “USS Normandy.”  Thirteen additional cities held events for the stamps’ First Day of Issue and offered pictorial cancellations. 

The ceremony at Lubbock Texas, was special as it was the same city in which World War II pilots were given glider training at the old South Plains Army Air Field.  One of those pilots was Werner Birkelbach, who flew an antitank gun and four soldiers to Normandy before dawn on D-Day.  Fifty years later, on the World War II stamps’ First Day of Issue, Birkelbach flew a modern sailplane 35 miles from Littlefield, Texas, to Lubbock to deliver cacheted covers bearing the new stamps.  They were all given First Day of Issue postmarks at the end of the trip.

Pre-First Day Usage:  Linn’s Stamp News found that a “P-51s escort B-17s” stamp was used on cover postmarked Rock Hill, New York, on June 3rd, three days before the stamps were officially issued.  This was the earliest known usage of the one of the World War II stamps.

About the World War II Series:  As the 50th anniversary of World War II was approaching, the US Postal Service wanted a series that would recognize the key events of the war and the important contributions America made to the Allied victory.  Rather than issue a large number of stamps, the USPS decided to create five sheetlets, each commemorating one year of America’s involvement in the war.  Each sheetlet had 10 different stamps arranged in two horizontal strips of 5.  In the center was a world map with Allied and neutral nations in yellow and Axis-controlled areas in red.  Notes on the map highlighted key developments that occurred that year.  The stamps each featured important events that took place during the year, as well.

History the stamp represents:  Throughout 1944, American troops continued to advance on two fronts in the Pacific Theater.  While MacArthur fought his way across New Guinea toward the Philippines, Admiral Nimitz’s amphibious forces leapfrogged from island to island toward Japan.  After successfully capturing the Marshall Islands, they jumped north to their next target – the Mariana Islands.  On June 15th, just nine days after Eisenhower’s successful Normandy landing, US Marine divisions landed on the coast of Saipan.

The Japanese put up a fierce resistance and bitter fighting ensued.  But in the end American forces dealt Japan a serious blow – destroying its navy and crippling its air force.  On July 9, 1944, after more than three weeks of savage fighting, Saipan was declared under American control.  So ominous was the defeat that on July 18th, Japan’s Prime Minister Tojo resigned.

Within a week, American troops also occupied Guam and Tinian.  Nimitz was now within striking distance of Tokyo and on November 24th, the first force of B-29s took off from Saipan to bomb Japan.  Using submarine and air bases on Saipan, Nimitz was eventually able to launch the assaults on Iwo Jima and Okinawa that led to the inevitable defeat of Japan.

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U.S. #2838g
1994 Troops Clear Saipan Bunkers, 1944 – World War II

 

  • Part of the fourth souvenir sheet issued to commemorate the 50th anniversary of World War II
  • Sheet includes 10 stamps plus a world map

 

Stamp Category:  Commemorative
Series:  World War II
Value: 29¢ (Individual stamps), First Class Mail Rate
First Day of Issue:  June 6, 1994
First Day City:  Two main ceremonies in Washington, DC and  St. Mere Egilse, Normandy, with additional smaller events in:  Fort Dix, New Jersey; Salt Lake City, Utah; New York, New York; Clarksville, Tennessee; Fort Sam Houston, Lubbock, San Antonio, and Houston, Texas; Bangor, Maine; Charleston, South Carolina; Virginia Beach and Richmond, Virginia; and Fort Campbell, Kentucky
Quantity Issued (if known):  120,600,000
Printed by:  Bureau of Engraving and Printing
Printing Method:  Offset, Intaglio
Format:  Sheetlets of 10 (arranged in 2 strips of 5, one across the top and one across the bottom of the sheetlet, with world map in between)
Perforations:  11.1 (Eureka off-line perforator)
Tagging:  Overall, large block covering stamps and part of selvage

Why the stamp was issued:  This souvenir sheet was issued to commemorate the 50th anniversary of World War II.  It was the fourth in a series of five that were issued over the course of five years.

About the stamp design:  Shows a flamethrower used extensively during the campaign in Saipan.  The yellow and orange flame allows the black “29 USA” to show up easier than it does on some of the other stamps on the souvenir sheet.

First Day City:  The stamps were dedicated in two ceremonies on June 6th:  one at the National Postal Museum in Washington, DC, and one in the town of St. Mere Egilse in Normandy.  First Day of Issue postmarks read “USS Normandy.”  Thirteen additional cities held events for the stamps’ First Day of Issue and offered pictorial cancellations. 

The ceremony at Lubbock Texas, was special as it was the same city in which World War II pilots were given glider training at the old South Plains Army Air Field.  One of those pilots was Werner Birkelbach, who flew an antitank gun and four soldiers to Normandy before dawn on D-Day.  Fifty years later, on the World War II stamps’ First Day of Issue, Birkelbach flew a modern sailplane 35 miles from Littlefield, Texas, to Lubbock to deliver cacheted covers bearing the new stamps.  They were all given First Day of Issue postmarks at the end of the trip.

Pre-First Day Usage:  Linn’s Stamp News found that a “P-51s escort B-17s” stamp was used on cover postmarked Rock Hill, New York, on June 3rd, three days before the stamps were officially issued.  This was the earliest known usage of the one of the World War II stamps.

About the World War II Series:  As the 50th anniversary of World War II was approaching, the US Postal Service wanted a series that would recognize the key events of the war and the important contributions America made to the Allied victory.  Rather than issue a large number of stamps, the USPS decided to create five sheetlets, each commemorating one year of America’s involvement in the war.  Each sheetlet had 10 different stamps arranged in two horizontal strips of 5.  In the center was a world map with Allied and neutral nations in yellow and Axis-controlled areas in red.  Notes on the map highlighted key developments that occurred that year.  The stamps each featured important events that took place during the year, as well.

History the stamp represents:  Throughout 1944, American troops continued to advance on two fronts in the Pacific Theater.  While MacArthur fought his way across New Guinea toward the Philippines, Admiral Nimitz’s amphibious forces leapfrogged from island to island toward Japan.  After successfully capturing the Marshall Islands, they jumped north to their next target – the Mariana Islands.  On June 15th, just nine days after Eisenhower’s successful Normandy landing, US Marine divisions landed on the coast of Saipan.

The Japanese put up a fierce resistance and bitter fighting ensued.  But in the end American forces dealt Japan a serious blow – destroying its navy and crippling its air force.  On July 9, 1944, after more than three weeks of savage fighting, Saipan was declared under American control.  So ominous was the defeat that on July 18th, Japan’s Prime Minister Tojo resigned.

Within a week, American troops also occupied Guam and Tinian.  Nimitz was now within striking distance of Tokyo and on November 24th, the first force of B-29s took off from Saipan to bomb Japan.  Using submarine and air bases on Saipan, Nimitz was eventually able to launch the assaults on Iwo Jima and Okinawa that led to the inevitable defeat of Japan.