Stamps commemorate Pacific lighthouses

WASHINGTON – George Larsen jumped out of bed and pulled on his jeans, thinking an earthquake was shaking Hawaii’s Diamond Head lighthouse, where he worked as a Coast Guard radioman.

But it wasn’t nature: War arrived that Sunday morning, Dec. 7, 1941, as Japanese bombers swept in to attack the nearby Pearl Harbor Navy base.

Larsen ran outside to see what was happening as three torpedo planes roared overhead. He could see smoke rising from the Naval station and plumes of seawater blasted into the air.

Diamond Head is one of five Pacific lighthouses being commemorated on new postage stamps and postal cards.

The 41-cent stamps and 26-cent cards feature Diamond Head Light, Five Finger Islands Light in Alaska, Grays Harbor Light in Washington, Umpqua River Light in Oregon and St. George Reef Light in California.

The stamps and cards go on sale nationwide Thursday. Other lighthouses, including those on the East Coast and Great Lakes, have been featured on past sets of stamps.

Dan Peckham served at both Umpqua and Five Finger lights as a Coast Guard chief petty officer.

“Five Finger Light is so isolated, located all alone on about an acre of rock,” said Peckham. “I missed my family a lot. The crew and I stayed busy scraping and painting and doing everything we could to care for and preserve the Five Finger Light. It was the least we could do – its tour of duty is a lot longer than ours.”