[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 69 (Thursday, May 16, 1996)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E830]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             RAOUL WALLENBERG COMMEMORATIVE STAMP UNVEILING

                                 ______


                        HON. JAMES C. GREENWOOD

                            of pennslyvania

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 16, 1996

  Mr. GREENWOOD. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to an 
American hero, Raoul Wallenberg. Raoul Wallenberg risked his life to 
save thousands of people from the Holocaust in Budapest, Hungary. His 
legacy is to remind us all of what is truly great about mankind. He 
selflessly risked his own life to save anywhere from 30,000 to 150,000 
Jews from the Nazis.
  On May 8, 1996, the U.S. Postal Service paid special tribute to Raoul 
Wallenberg by unveiling a 1997 commemorative stamp in his honor.
  Mr. Speaker, the issue of creating a commemorative stamp for Raoul 
Wallenberg was brought to my attention in 1992 when I was first elected 
to the U.S. House of Representatives. My constituent, Ilene Pachman, 
residing in Richboro, PA, asked me to support her national effort to 
solicit the U.S. Postal Service in issuing a commemorative stamp for 
this extraordinary man.
  Since that time, with Ilene's help, we sent two letters to the 
Postmaster General, Marvin Runyon, asking that a commemorative stamp be 
issued honoring Raoul Wallenberg. Both letters were signed by over 50 
Members of the House of Representatives.
  Initially, Mrs. Pachman was inspired by the accounts of both Dr. Vera 
Goodkin, a New Jersey professor saved by Wallenberg, and Angela Adachi 
of New York, who was his personal aide in Budapest. Later, around the 
time that the Elvis Presley stamp was being issued, when Mrs. Pachman 
read that Adolph Eichmann is better know than Wallenberg, she realized 
the need for and the value of a U.S. Wallenberg stamp.
  Ilene said that she ``gleaned ideas and found supporters from 
watching speakers on C-Span and from endless networking.'' All of her 
hard work paid off, and like Raoul Wallenberg, Ilene did not give up 
her quest.
  I would like to take this opportunity to personally thank Ilene 
Pachman. It is due to her determination and enthusiasm that the U.S. 
Postal Service as well as all Americans are honoring the memory and 
commemorating the life of a true American hero, Raoul Wallenberg.
  Thank you, Ilene.

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