Supporting the Purple Heart stamp

To the editor: I would like to take this opportunity to thank all our area residents, local newspapers, radio stations, and others who joined in the appeal to the U.S. Postal Service to continue to keep the Purple Heart stamp in circulation. I cannot express how much this stamp means to Purple Heart recipients, and to all veterans. The reissuance of the Purple Heart stamp as a 39 cent stamp was truly a team effort by those who flooded the postal service with their letters of support. The horror of war and the bloodshed of American troops still continues today, as it did when the stamp was first introduced on May 30, 2003. On that day, countless individuals expressed their gratitude to our men and women in uniform, and remarked how the Purple Heart stamp was so timely in relation to what this country was going through. Difficult times continue, but the praise we gave our troops in 2003 is still echoed today. The Purple Heart stamp represents one more small way we can honor our veterans and their families. Sincerely, William J. Larkin Jr. New York State Senate