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RESOURCES
Huntington Township Chamber of Commerce offers links and info. Kings Park Cares - Community Rallies to Send Relief to WTC Volunteers
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March 16, 2002 Stamp To Raise Money For Families Of Fallen Rescue Workers In an oval office ceremony, President George Bush and U.S. Rep. Gary Ackerman (D-Queens/L.I.), unveiled a new World Trade Center commemorative postage stamp. Revenue from sales of this stamp will aid families of rescue workers killed in the September 11, 2001 attack. The creation of the stamp, sponsored by Ackerman, marks only the second time in U.S. history that a "special cause" will benefit from proceeds.
"It's an extraordinary piece of work" President Bush said of the stamp during the ceremony. "I want to thank Gary Ackerman for sponsoring it." The Thomas Franklin image, forever linked to the rescue effort, of three New York City Firefighters raising the American flag in the midst of the rubble from the fallen twin towers is the subject of the stamp design. Firemen Danny McWilliams of Long Island, George Johnson of Queens and Bill Eisengrein of Staten Island, were on-hand for the unveiling. "The response of New York's heroes continues to be an inspiration to all Americans" Ackerman said. "This is the very least our nation can do to recognize their bravery and heroism and to show our thanks to their families." Depicting these firefighters on the stamp is a nearly unique event since few living people have appeared on U.S. postage stamps. Normally, a person is not eligible for this honor until they have been deceased for at least 10 years. The concept for the special cause stamp came from Ackerman's son, Corey, who mentioned the idea his friend Michael Kessel had. New York Senator Hillary Clinton D-NY) sponsored the legislation in the Senate and the bill was signed by Bush in December. The only other special cause stamp was the 1998 breast cancer stamp which sells for 45 cents, 11 cents above the face value first class postage of 34 cents. Similarly, the WTC stamp will cost 45 cents, with 8 cents dedicated to a special fund for rescue workers killed while responding to the disaster and 3 cents going to the U.S. Postal Service. The fund will be administered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Purchase of the stamp is strictly voluntary and other stamps will continue to be available at the regular first class rate. Stamps used for postage and carry a voluntary surcharge for charitable purposes are known as semi-postal stamps. Since its inception, the breast cancer stamp has raised more than $30 million for research used toward finding a cure. The Postal Service is producing 205 million stamps titled "Heroes of 2001." While the unveiling coincided with the sixth month anniversary of the tragedy, the stamps will not become available until next month.
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L to R: U.S. Postmaster General Jack Potter, Firefighter Bill Eisengrein, Firefighter George
Johnson, Bush, Ackerman, Firefighter Dan Williams and Photographer Thomas Franklin.
Firefighter Johnson is a member of Ladder 157 in Brooklyn while McWilliams is
assigned to Ladder 3 in Manhattan and Eisengrein to Rescue 2 in Brooklyn. Franklin
is a photographer with New Jersey's Bergen Record.