Assistant Secretary Duckworth Joins U.S. Postal Service for Purple Heart Stamp Ceremony

Assistant Secretary Duckworth Joins U.S. Postal Service for Purple Heart Stamp
Ceremony

WASHINGTON, May 18 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Today, the Department of
Veterans Affairs (VA) Assistant Secretary for Public and Intergovernmental
Affairs, L. Tammy Duckworth, spoke at a U.S. Postal Service ceremony
announcing the reissue of the Purple Heart stamp. Hundreds of people attended
the morning event at the Washington Convention Center.

"This stamp is a tribute to our nation's wounded Veterans and a reminder of
our society's commitment to care for them when the war is over," Assistant
Secretary L. Tammy Duckworth said. "Many people who are severely wounded have
their initial fears of a life destroyed replaced by the understanding that
they can do just about anything."

This is the fifth issue of the Purple Heart definitive postage stamp. The
Purple Heart stamp was first issued on May 20, 2003, at Mount Vernon, Va. The
Purple Heart is awarded in the name of the President of the United States to
members of the U.S. Military who have been wounded in combat or to the next of
kin of those killed in action.

Assistant Secretary L. Tammy Duckworth is a recipient of the Purple Heart for
wounds she sustained while serving in Iraq with the United States Army. In
2004, her aircraft was ambushed and a rocket-propelled grenade struck the
Black Hawk helicopter she was co-piloting during a mission north of Bagdad.

SOURCE U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Public Affairs, +1-202-461-7600