Where is the U.S. D-Day 75th anniversary stamp?

Philatelic Foreword by Jay Bigalke

Great Britain’s Royal Mail and a few other postal administrations are issuing stamps this year to commemorate the 75th anniversary of D-Day, the Allied invasion of German-occupied Normandy on June 6, 1944.

But the United States Postal Service, as of this writing, has not announced a stamp for the anniversary.

In a letter to Linn’s, stamp collector Kevin P. Tucker wrote, “There is absolutely no reason why the USPS couldn’t have issued at least one stamp honoring the 75th anniversary of D-Day.”

Tucker also said that the World War II veterans who are with us now won’t be around for the 100th anniversary.

Linn’s asked Postal Service officials if a D-Day stamp for the 75th anniversary was a possibility, but did not receive a response as of the press deadline [see below for comment from USPS]. However, it is well stated by the USPS that the deliberations of the Citizens’ Stamp Advisory Committee are secret.

According to one of the CSAC guidelines, “Events of historical significance shall be considered for commemoration on anniversaries in multiples of 50 years.” That could be why the D-Day stamp isn’t happening, but on the other hand, the Postal Service is issuing a stamp June 11 for the 75th anniversary of USS Missouri (see page 8).

I understand Tucker’s frustration. He said, “I now will need to purchase the stamps and get the special cancellations from the Royal Mail as they saw fit to honor Americans and their sacrifice …”

On June 6, 1994, for the 50th anniversary of D-Day, the United States did issue a 29¢ commemorative stamp (Scott 2838c) as part of a World War II set of 10.

U.S. Postal Service spokesman Roy Betts responded to Linn’s on May 30, noting the previously issued D-Day stamp in 1994. He said, “With a limited number of postage stamps to be issued each year, we make every effort to celebrate different aspects of U.S. history rather than repeating subjects which have been previously honored.”

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Article updated June 4 with additional information.