Stamp honoring Thunderbirds unveiled

Friday, Sept. 19, 1997 | 9 a.m.

When Nellis Air Force Base Senior Airman Jim Schaefer was a boy, he collected stamps, getting most of them from envelopes that relatives saved for him.

On Thursday, he bought 15 first-day cancellation envelopes -- called "covers" by philatelists -- of the 50th anniversary of the Air Force issue. He said he would send a dozen of them to relatives.

"I pretty much collected what I could get (for free) when I was 8-15 years old, but now I am buying these -- and I'll keep three for myself," the 25-year-old crew member of the famed Thunderbird Squadron said after the stamp's unveiling ceremony at Nellis.

"I've got all of my stamps in storage some place. I hope someday to start collecting again."

Schaefer, a five-year Air Force member, joined the Thunderbird Squadron 1 1/2 years ago. He was among a large number of the blue-suited group of officers and enlisted men attending the morning dedication ceremony that was followed by a wait in a long line to buy first-day philatelic items.

The U.S. Postal Service, which generally issues between 100 and 120 new stamps each year, also sold hats and T-shirts featuring the rectangular 32-cent stamp that depicts four red, white and blue Thunderbird jets in a diamond formation against the wild blue yonder.

The stamp was issued Thursday, the 50th anniversary of the day the U.S. Army Air Corps became the U.S. Air Force.

To commemorate the occasion, the Postal Service held many dedication ceremonies nationwide, with the official one taking place at the Pentagon.

However, those buying the unofficial first-day cover in Southern Nevada got a special treat.

On Thursday, in 19 Western U.S. cities, legal-size envelopes were issued featuring a special blue and silver "cachet" -- stamp talk for a picture on the left side of a first-day cover -- featuring the Thunderbirds.

However, the ones sold in Las Vegas feature the logo "Home of the Thunderbirds" while the items sold in the other 18 cities read "50th Anniversary Station," said USPS spokeswoman Teresa Rudkin.

The ceremony, held in the sparkling white Thunderbird hangar amid a backdrop of a huge American flag and the jet used by Thunderbird commander Lt. Col. Ron Mumm, featured Las Vegas City Councilman Michael McDonald reading a proclamation.

"I got off duty (as a Metro Police officer) at 2 a.m., but I would have come to this (9 a.m.) ceremony with no sleep," said McDonald, a lifelong Las Vegan who made his first trip to Nellis to see the Thunderbirds with his fourth-grade class.

"As a child, you see these planes in the sky and you stand in wonder, then you get a chance to see them up close -- it just gives you chills."

During his presentation, McDonald praised the Air Force personnel who "gave their careers, and sometimes their lives, in the fight for freedom."

Nellis' 57th Wing Commander Brig. Gen. Michael Mosley said it was appropriate that the Postal Service chose the Thunderbirds to represent the Air Force on the stamp.

"As our citizens lick these stamps and put them on envelopes, they will think of the good work the Air Force does," he said.

Las Vegas Postmaster Cliff Rucker said the Postal Service could have chosen cutting edge aircraft technology or a famous air battle for the Air Force stamp.

"But the image we chose is one residents of Las Vegas will hold dear to our hearts -- that of our hometown heroes," he said.

The Postal Service has printed 45 million Air Force commemoratives -- a far cry from the 300 million James Dean 32-cent stamps issued last year, the 400 million 32-cent Marilyn Monroe stamps in 1995 or the record 500 million 29-cent Elvis Presley stamps in 1993.

Still, collectors like Schaefer feel the Air Force stamp will be popular.

"The Thunderbirds have gone to a lot of places in 44 years," the resident of Williamsport, Pa., said. "And, of course, a lot of military people like military stamps.

"I think it will be big like the (50th anniversary) World War II issues."

Schaefer was referring to the 10-stamp souvenir sheets issued each year from 1991-95, featuring maps of a particular year's key battles on the sheets and 50 important World War II events on the stamps.

Although a large number of those issues were sold, it is difficult for collectors to obtain used stamps from the series because so many souvenir sheets were put away as keepsakes.

A number of the people attending Thursday's ceremony indicated they were buying specimens that would not travel the globe as postage, but rather wind up intact in scrapbooks or among other Air Force mementoes.