Service as Old as the Nation Itself

The United States will celebrate its 250th birthday next year — but 2025 also marks a series of 250th anniversaries, particularly for the institutions that secured the independence of our nation at its very beginning.

The Revolutionary War began in 1775 — and so did the the U.S. Army, U.S. Navy, and U.S. Marine Corps. The Continental Congress first established these three military branches that year, creating the Army in June and appointing George Washington commander in chief, approving the first two Navy ships in October, and authorizing the raising of the first two Marine Corps battalions in November. Because these three service branches are as old as the idea of the United States itself, they are steeped in traditions that connect present-day soldiers, sailors, and Marines to countless others who have served since 1775 — some famous, many forever unknown. 

Military veterans often point out that their customs and culture are meant to be experienced rather than rendered in pictures or words, a profound idea that presented an interesting challenge to the U.S. Postal Service, especially when the design team began thinking about how to celebrate their 250th anniversaries. How could three images, one for each branch, honor the service of so many — past, present, and future?

Experimenting briefly with new versions of vintage stamps that depicted military personnel, art director Antonio Alcalá soon found that the symbolism cultivated for centuries by the three branches themselves was a more promising path to a consistent look, one that military leadership would consider both appropriate and dignified.

“We could treat all three branches equivalently,” Alcalá explains, “and the three branches agreed to the design approach.”

Although the Department of Defense forbids the depiction of its seals for anything but official military purposes, they do permit outside organizations to use emblems that resemble official seals. Known as military service marks, these images, which require special approval, employ familiar symbolism and imagery. Featured on this year’s stamps, these military service marks indicate that the Army, the Navy, and the Marine Corps have all welcomed the Postal Service to join in their anniversary celebrations.

But for the art director, one last hurdle remained: a step that’s essential to the process, even if it’s an aspect of design that even many who love stamps tend to take for granted.

“The additional task was finding appropriate typography that felt honorific and could be used similarly for all three stamps,” Alcalá says. Suggesting elegance as well as authority, the typeface he selected enhances the classic look of the three designs, their boldness suggesting the focused dedication of those who give the nation their all.

No single portrait, no lone monument, no one scene from any conflict can fully convey a 250-year legacy — but for those who’ve served, the symbols on these stamps offer visual touchstones of their own experience and reminders that the nation celebrates with them this year.

“I hope military service men and women like the stamps,” Alcalá concludes, “and feel proud their branch is being commemorated.”