Fifty years ago, the U.S. Postal Office published the 5¢ Amateur Radio stamp, Scott #1260. At the time the stamp honored the 250,00 amateur radio operators in America. It was issued on the 50th anniversary of the founding of the American Radio Relay League, it pictures a radio broadcast wave and radio dial, color lilac.
The first day ceremony for this stamp took place on December 15, 1964 in Anchorage, Alaska.
The reason for the Alaska location was that in March of that year, the largest earthquake in the history of the United States struck Alaska. The earthquake, which measured 8.3 or higher on the Richter scale, caused widespread destruction and with the ensuing tsunami (tidal wave) it caused, the quake took 125 lives.
The members of the Amateur Radio Relay League played an important part in providing essential emergency communications during the devastating 1964 Alaska earthquake. Amateur radio operators provided essential emergency communications, which greatly aided relief and rescue operations. The stamp also honors all those operators who took part during this emergency.
Additional Information:
More about the 1964 Earthquake