In May of 1971, Mr. Battle entered the contest for a recruitment poster honoring the 10th anniversary of the Corps. At the time that he saw the call for entries, he was vice president and director of graphic design in a group design studio, although he subsequently developed his own private practice. He had an idea about a week before the deadline. The night before it was due, he sketched his design on the “back of an envelope” before he returned to his studio, where he quickly created the Peace Corps poster and submitted it the next day. Battle was the first of nine runner-ups awarded a $500 prize. Although Mr. Battle’s original poster design was not published, the Peace Corps issued a recruitment poster in the 1970s using his design with different wording.

The artist was never told by the Peace Corps or the postal officials that his design was being used as the concept for the stamp. His first awareness of the event was the fact that his neighbors were being interviewed as part of a background check prior to an issuance of an invitation by the Peace Corps for him to travel to Washington, D.C. for the stamp unveiling.

Mr. Battle and his family have fond memories of travelling to Washington for the announcement of the stamp where he was honored at a reception in the Capitol, hosted by Joseph Blatchford, then Director of ACTION and Representative Clarence J. Brown of Ohio. He could not have foreseen that his design would end up being copied and modified in many ways in the ensuing years. In 1994 Battle sold the copyright of the design to the Peace Corps hoping that the agency would protect the integrity of the design against careless adaptations.

The eight cent Peace Corps stamp was printed in four panes of fifty in the photogravure method on an Andreotti press by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing. The designer was the well known and respected graphic artist Bradbury Thompson who adapted Battle’s design to fit the restrictions and requirements of the postage stamp. In a note to Gordon Morison, then Division Manager of Philatelic Affairs, he explained why he added an extra “bird” outside the flag. He felt that it made the design more effective since the poster design was square, whereas the stamp was vertical.(3)

The stamp was issued on February 11, 1972. The first day of issue ceremony was held at the National Museum of American History and Technology at the Smithsonian Institution, now known as the National Museum of American History. In attendance were Daniel Boorstein, the museum’s director, Joseph Blatchford, Director of ACTION and Senior Assistant Postmaster, Harold Faught.

After the stamp was issued, several people wrote letters complaining that the use of the flag was disrespectful or that the doves were a reference to the peace movement.(4) Mr. Battle said that the doves were not inspired by the “peace movement” but rather represented the birth of an idea reaching out into an international arena. The stars morphing into birds represent a daring venture, much like the Peace Corps itself.(5) The juxtaposition of different themes and imaginative elements are a hallmark of Mr. Battle’s work.

As the Peace Corps celebrates its 50th Anniversary it continues to thrive and change with the times. It currently has 8,655 volunteers in 77 countries working in traditional roles such as education, health and agriculture as well as information technology and business development.