Veterans Day: a philatelic salute to those who have served

Today, Nov. 11, 2015, is Veterans Day.

Over the years, a number of United States stamps honoring those who have served in our nation’s armed forces have been issued.

A couple of them are illustrated above: the 1999 33¢ Honoring Those Who Served (Scott 3331) and the 2001 34¢ Honoring Veterans (3508).

Some of you might know that during 2006-07 I was deployed to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.

Although I served 16 of my 21 years in the U.S. Navy Supply Corps (think logistics), I was tapped to be a public affairs officer for one of the U.S. Army’s regional security assistance commands that was tasked with training the Afghan National Army and the Afghan National Police.

As a reservist, my assignment took full advantage of my years of writing and editing for Linn’s Stamp News.

While working for the Army at Kandahar Airfield, I conceived, wrote and published The Main Effort, a twice-monthly electronic newsletter that reported the significant happenings in our area of operations.

After I returned in June 2007, I joined the Scott catalog editorial staff.

Not long thereafter, I wrote two From The Scott Editors columns about my philatelic experiences in Afghanistan, titled “Modern postal history from Afghanistan” and “Modern U.S. military postal history from the Afghanistan theater.”

These columns were published in the September 2007 and January 2008 issues of Scott Stamp Monthly, respectively.

Recalling these memories prompts me to offer my humble and heartfelt thanks to all of our loyal readers who have served, or continue to serve, the United States in uniform. Thanks, also, to the families who stay behind, to tend hearth and home, until their loved ones return.

I will always be your biggest fan.

Until next time, happy collecting. Cheers!