HIRAM BINGHAM IV, WWII HOLOCAUST HERO, BY ROBERT KIM BINGHAM, ESQ., SON OF HIRAM BINGHAM IV

NEWS & LETTERS

October 18, 2005
PRESS RELEASE
HIRAM BINGHAM IV STAMP UPDATE

To:  Area residents and HBIV stamp supporters

I previously reported that the Hiram (Harry) Bingham IV stamp drive has been a success:  On August 3, 2005, the US Postal Service (USPS) sent me a message that the postmaster general approved the 2006 stamp program and that, next year, Bingham will have a stamp of his own as part of a series of six "Distinguished American Diplomats" being honored by commemorative stamps.  CBS News also reported on http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/08/05/national/main759858.shtml (Aug. 5, 2005) that

"Six professional diplomats, chosen on the advice of the American Foreign Service Association , will be featured in a six-stamp 'souvenir sheet'. They are Hiram Bingham IV, who saved many French Jews from the Holocaust; Francis W. Willis, the first woman U.S. Ambassador; Charles Eustis Bohlen, a specialist in Soviet affairs who served as the Russian translator for Presidents Roosevelt and Truman at the Tehran, Yalta and Potsdam conferences during World War II; Robert D. Murphy, a top aide to President Roosevelt during World War II and later as Ambassador to Belgium and Japan; Clifton R. Wharton, the first black U.S. Ambassador; and Philip C. Habib, who held top posts in the State Department and was called out of retirement by President Reagan in 1981 to prevent war in the Middle East.  Diplomats is one of four issues coming out during the major international stamp show in Washington next year."

I expect that the USPS will officially announce the 2006 program within 30 days, when the image of Bingham's stamp will be published.

Regarding a celebration, the first-day-of-issue ceremony for the "Distinguished American Diplomats" series is tentatively planned for May 30, 2006 at the new Washington Convention Center, 12 noon.  It will be open to the public .  There will also be many family members there for the other five "distinguished American diplomats" being honored.  This USPS ceremony should be an exciting diplomatic occasion, with a designated post office on site, to permit stamp collectors to buy elegant first-day covers, sheets of selected stamps, and get first-day-of-issue cancellation marks on envelopes and items mailed, et al.

For further developments, readers may check my website under the "NEWS" link at http://pages.cthome.net/WWIIHERO/ as well as the "Washington 2006" world philatelic exhibition webpage, to verify the convention center's "schedule of activities and events" at http://www.washington-2006.org/wschedule.htm.

Thanks a million for your support during the six-year-long stamp drive.

Robert Kim Bingham
HBIV Stamp-drive coordinator and webmaster.

9/6/05:  The US Postal Service advised the following:  "The stamps will be issued in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, May 30, 2006, at an international stamp show.  There will be an official first day of issue ceremony planned by the Postal Service, and it will be open to the public.  http://www.washington-2006.org/"  (Italics added.)   --Robert Kim Bingham

8/10/05.  LETTER RECEIVED FROM ERIC SAUL - VISAS FOR LIFE PROGRAM - RE STAMP DRIVE OUTCOME

Dear Kim,

CONGRATULATIONS!!!!

I am so pleased and happy for all of your incredible work and organization to make this a reality. 

I read the great article in the New London Day, and was just as happy as I could be.  Your father is finally recognized, after more than 60 years, for his incredible and heroic rescue efforts on behalf of refugees in southern France.  I am sure that he is very proud of you and the whole family.

I also noted that your stamp drive stimulated the Postal Service to honor other diplomats in the US foreign service.  This is another great tribute to your work.

Please let me know when they have the stamp unveiling or any other ceremony.  I would be pleased and proud to attend any event that the US Postal Service will be holding.  We will proudly display your father's postage stamp in all of our upcoming Visas for Life exhibitions ...

Again, congratulations.  Three cheers for your father and the Bingham family!

In deepest respect,
Eric

8/5/05. The Hiram (Harry) Bingham IV stamp drive has achieved success. This past week I received word from the USPS that the postmaster general approved the stamp for the 2006 stamp program. Next year, Harry will be included in a series of six "Distinguished American Diplomats," each of whom will be portrayed on his or her own stamp. See 8/5/05 on-line CBS news item at http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/08/05/national/main759858.shtml for the names of the six honored diplomats. The official USPS public announcement typically is in the fall of the year preceding issuance of stamps (i.e. next October or November 2005).

My memorable "Visas for Life" tour of Israel in 1998, during which our group heard poignant first-hand accounts from survivors of Hitler's wrath, has been an unyielding source of inspiration for the stamp drive. I'm grateful to supporters of the campaign for your incredibly broad bipartisan support that led to this deserved outcome. I understand the US postal service plans to issue the stamp around Memorial Day 2006. I'll keep this webpage posted. Thanks a million!

s/ Robert Kim Bingham, HBIV Stamp drive coordinator and webmaster, Sixth child of Harry's eleven children.

5/24/04. A notice received from Dili, East Timor:  "In Dili's Cathedral on June 17th a mass is scheduled that will be celebrated all over the world ... as part of the world wide celebrations in honor of the Portuguese diplomat Aristides de Sousa Mendes, the American diplomat Hiram Bingham [IV] is also being honored." 

4/17/04. Catholic University awards its highest medal to HB IV.  On April 17, 2004, just before the start of a dramatic concert entitled "Defiant Requiem - Verdi at Terezin", the Very Rev. David M. O'Connell, President of the Catholic University of America, awarded the CUA President's Medal to Harry, accepted by his daughter Abigail. In his remarks to a full concert hall, President O'Connell stated that "Hiram Bingham IV chose principle over expediency and humanity over political calculation.  He displayed courage in defiance of evil.  For these reasons, the Catholic University of America is proud to confer posthumously upon him its highest honor, the President's Medal." 

1/24/04. Letter from USPS:  'You will be pleased to know that the nomination of Hiram Bingham IV is currently under consideration by the Citizen's Stamp Advisory Committee as a future stamp issuance.'  Terrance W. McCaffrey, Manager,  Stamp Development.

10/29/03 US Capitol exhibit.  A week-long "Visas for Life" exhibit opened in Washington, DC on October 29, 2003 in the Senate Russell Building Rotunda, which featured enlarged photographs of approximately 30 WWII "righteous diplomats" being honored from around the world, including Hiram Bingham IV.

5/7/03 US Senator Frank R. Lautenberg writes to Postmaster General: "The Hiram Bingham stamp is currently under consideration by the Citizens' stamp Advisory Committee. I urge you to quickly approve this commemorative stamp in conjunction with the 100th anniversary of Mr. Bingham's birth [2003]."

5/7/03 See well-written article about Harry in Cleveland by Stewart Hoicowitz at: http://www.clevelandjewishnews.com/display/inn_features/profile/zsun0425.txt

2/26/03 US Postal Service wrote: "The proposal for a Hiram Bingham IV commemorative stamp has been reviewed by the Committee and it remains under consideration as a possible future stamp issuance....Currently, stamps for 2005 and subsequent years are being considered." Deborah D. Leifer, Mgr. Government Relations

1/27/03 US Postal Service wrote that it will "share" RKB'S request with Citizens' Stamp Advisory Committee to RECONSIDER the decision not to include the HBIV stamp in the 2003 lineup.

11/6/02 Last day of "Visas for Life" exhibit at Boston Univ.; Jeff Jacoby, Boston Globe, praised the exhibit in an Op/Ed 10/20/02. Sponsor: Terri Hootstein, Director of Development, Greater Boston Chapter, American Jewish Committee at [email removed]

10/3/02 Connecticut Congressmen Rob Simmons and Chris Shays and 17 other U.S. Representatives send a letter to the national Citizens' Stamp Advisory Committee in strong support of the stamp, together with a copy of a pending House Joint Resolution recommending issuance of the Hiram Bingham IV stamp.

7/17/02 Governor Rowland designates July 17, Harry's birthday, as Hiram Bingham IV Day in Connecticut.

6/27/02 Colin Powell gives posthumous award to Harry at State Department ceremony. Amb. Thomas Pickering also praises Harry.

5/16/02 Congressman Rob Simmons wrote a "Dear Colleague" letter for House members to sign, urging the Postmaster General to issue the HBIV stamp in 2003. Please urge your Representative to sign today!

5/9/02 U.S. Senator Lieberman again wrote: "I strongly support the Hiram Bingham IV stamp proposal...I wish you success in this continued effort."

4/2/02 The U. S. Postal Service wrote: "The nomination of a stamp honoring Hiram Bingham IV remains under consideration by the Citizens' Stamp Advisory Committee....Currently, the stamp program for 2003 is closed, and stamps for 2004 and subsequent years are being considered." Kimberly A. Weaver, Mgr., Government Relations

4/14/02 There was a Visas for Life Exhibit on April 14, 2002 at the London Jewish Community Center, where Harry's story was "emphasized" (per Dr. Eric Saul). In 2002, there will be other "righteous diplomat" exhibits at Princeton, Boston Univ., and San Antonio.

1/22/02 The President of the American Foreign Service Asso, John K. Naland, wrote Harry's family that "the Governing Board of the American Foreign Service Association has voted to give a special posthumous award to our colleague and your late father, Hiram 'Harry' Bingham IV" at the State Department ceremony in Washington, DC on June 27, 2002. Harry was featured on the cover of the FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL June 2002 issue.

9/27/01 LA TIMES: "It turns out that Hiram Bingham IV hadn't failed in life at all. In fact, he was a hero who succeeded admirably at his chosen career: secretly saving lives, as a vice consul in Marseilles."

8/7/01: U.S. Senator Joseph Lieberman wrote: "On July 12th I wrote a note to the Postmaster General . . . calling his attention to the Hiram Bingham IV commemorative stamp proposal. I received the enclosed response, which states that the suggestion remains under consideration...."

8/2/01: Harry's oldest daughter, Tiffany, wrote from Maine: "A fine article especially honoring Dad and supporting proposal for a Bingham stamp appeared in 7/31 Bangor Daily News on OpEd page."

8/28/01: Editorial in Washington Post urges Secretary of State Colin Powell to support Bingham stamp proposal. To view the entire article, go to http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/opinion/A63679-2001Jul27.html

8/19/01: U.S. Senator Lieberman's office advised that the Hiram Bingham IV stamp was (again) "on the agenda" of the Citizen's Stamp Advisory Committee mtg 7/18 - 7/19!

6/5/01: Letter to OUR TOWN-SALEM: "The Harry Bingham family received news that the State of Israel will mint a bronze medal in Harry's honor . . . Our family extends heartfelt thanks to the Jewish Federation of Eastern Connecticut, and Eric Saul, "Visas for Life" Curator, Simon Weisanthal Center, Los Angeles for sponsoring the coin...." s/Robert Kim Bingham"

5/28/01:Historian's quote: "Bingham was the only State Department official anywhere in Europe who gave Jews emergency visas." Blanche Cook "Varian Fry. A Hero for Our Time." Blanche Wiesen Cook is Distinguished Professor of History at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice and the CUNY Graduate Center. Culturefront on Line. Vol 7 #2,

5/1/01: There was an exhibit of the WWII "righteous diplomats" at the Museum of American Politics, Joseloff Gallery, University of Hartford, Connecticut, which is a world traveling exhibit that has been to NY, Washington, DC, San Francisco, Europe and Japan ...to 110 sites so far. It was open from May 1 thru ++June 13, 2001, and received significant publicity in the Hartford Courant and a wonderful community response. Source: Ms. Zina Davis, Director, Joseloff Gallery, University of Hartford, 200 Bloomfield Avenue West Hartford, CT 06117

3/22/01: U.S. Rep. Rob Simmons, R-2nd District, "introduced legislation Wednesday recommending the [Hiram Bingham IV] stamp....Simmons and [State] Rep. Linda Orange, D-Colchester, previously gained unanimous endorsement from the state Legislature to support a petition to the Citizens' Stamp Advisory Committee...'It's been a tremendous bipartisan effort, and I hope it will prevail,...Those interested in supporting the stamp proposal can search for Hiram Bingham on the Yahoo! search engine to learn how....Simmons hopes to gain the same overwhelming [bipartisan] support in Congress.' Norwich Bulletin

4/12/01: The History Channel again aired the hour-long "Diplomats for the Damned" program featuring HBIV and 3 other "righteous diplomats," as part of the channel's Classroom Study Program. The video of that show is available for order (along with a nice writeup) at the following link:

http://store.aetv.com/html/product/index.jhtml?id=43053

The History Channel will air the show again on 31 January 2005.

Dear Abby, 
Fools can twist the words of wise men to suit any purpose. Though I am not familiar with the attacks on your father, I believe most deeply that he was a good man who, in his later years, when he often told me that angels talked to him and that he could see them everywhere, that he was tormented by the thought that some of the poeple he loved he believed were in immortal danger of their souls being damned. I believe most vehemently that when he told me that because I was married to a jew that I was in danger, that he truly thought I would be damned to hell by association, not because Mark, my husband was a bad man, in fact he was very fond of him and had many lively intellectual battles with him, but because he feared that all jews were in danger of hell because they were not Christians. This is not an anti-jewish or anti-Israel sentiment or prejudice but a fond desire to see those he cared for, and that included all of humanity, brought into the fold of Jesus. This was a religious and spiritual fear he had for me rather than a secular prejudice.
As to his rather spurious views on modern politics, I believe the thought of those he hadn't saved during those World War years haunted him more than the comfort of those he did save. None of can us can truly face the horror of the holocaust without having lived through it ourslves. The most we can do is try to honor the souls of those who bravely tried, in the face of opposition, to do something actual to try and and remedy and save those fleeing from persecution. What your father said or did in later years does nothing to dishonor the brave and honorable things he did do in Marseilles. Does a man saving a drowning man ask him his religion? No he reaches out a hand and pulls that person into a boat. If, in their many years of drifting across an endless ocean, they venture into that awful arena of political and spiritual disagreement, it still does nothing to take away the fact that one reached out to pull a drowning man aboard.
With love and respect for the memory of Hiram Bingham,
his niece, Lucretia Bingham

Spring 1999: US SenatorJoseph Lieberman letters: [to the Chair of the Citizens' Stamp Advisory Committee in Washington, DC]: "In 1996, the U.S. Postal Service issued an historic stamp honoring Swedish diplomat Raul Wallenberg, who rescued many thousands of Jews from the Holocaust. I was very proud that the United State Postal service issued a stamp of such great dignity and importance....At this time, I want to express my support for a stamp proposal to honor another hero of the Holocaust, the late American diplomat, Hiram Bingham IV of Salem, Connecticut, whose story only recently came to light. I was privileged to pay tribute to Hiram Bingham IV on the Senate floor in February 1998 and to present his remarkable story to my colleagues...Hiram Bingham IV was a U.S. diplomat stationed in Marseilles, France, in 1940. Acting against orders, and at great personal risk, he issued visas, safe passes, and letters of transit to Jewish refugees. Working in collaboration with American journalist Varian Fry's Emergency Rescue Committee, Hiram Bingham IV is credited with helping save more than 2,500 Jews from the Holocaust. I understand that many were Jewish artists, intellectuals, scientists and authors, including Marc Chagall, Max Ernst, Andre Breton and Heinrich Mann...."

11/27/00: Quotes from a survivor saved by Harry who petitioned for a stamp in Harry's honor: [To RKB:] "I do want you to know that Hiram Bingham had me (when I was a 15-year old boy in Marseille working for the Quakers) into his office and told me how he would issue my family a visa to the US after we had obtained the release of my father from the Gurs Concentration Camp. I consider Hiram Bingham and his colleague, Myles Standish, as real heroes." [To Postmaster General:] "I would like to petition herewith the Citizens' Stamp Advisory Committee and Postmaster General Henderson to look favorably at the issuance of a commemorative stamp to honor Consul Hiram Bingham IV, a World War II diplomatic hero of the United States. I could write a treatise about what Consul Hiram Bingham did to save refugees during his posting as US Consul at the American Consulate in Marseille, France in the 1940-1941 period. He definitely helped to save my life and that of my parents and sister." RMH, Houston,Texas

++April 10, 2001: Rec'd survivor Marta (Mrs. Lion) Feuchtwanger's 1987 account of her escape from Marseilles (she and her husband were hiding in Harry's "villa"): "In the cafes of the city, the abductions of the members of the Reichstag Severing and Breitscheid, as well as Theodor Wolff, the Chief Editor of the Berliner Tagesblatt, were being whispered about. [They all died in Nazi concentration camps.] We felt safe for the moment since were on the U.S. soil of the American Cousulate, not knowing that the private villa of Consul Hiram Bingham did not enjoy that immunity. I knew that Bingham's Swiss housekeeper, who was very loyal to the family, was the sister of a Nazi. The Czech maid alerted me to this situation. I tried to buy the good will of the caretaker by buying her gifts. More important was that on many evenings, I took her place in the kitchen regularly so that she could visit her brother who was a cook in a hotel...Lion, whom Bingham only permitted to leave the house after sundown to take a few steps, was concentrating on the third part of his Josephus Novel and was unaware of the present and of his surroundings. Only Bingham was depressed frequently filled with an endless despair about his powerlessness. The State Department had prohibited him from issuing the necessary visas to the people who were besieging the Consulate...Golo [Mann} came and was also hidden at Bingham's....A new problem arose. In order to be able to get a French exit Visa, you needed to have an American entry visa. The name Feuchtwanger was too dangerous. Bingham had a great idea. He asked Lion whether he had ever published under a pseudonym. Lion remembered a joke which he pulled once in Berlin. It was a long time ago. Inspired by Sinclair Lewis' Babbit, when Lion was writing some American ballads, he signed them J. L. Wetcheek. That was the American translation of Feuchtwanger. This enabled the U. S. Consulate to issue him his visa under the unobtrusive name, Wetcheek. Everything necessary was prepared by Bingham... [To escape into Spain] we had to climb over the mountain where there was no path and to avoid the road. We were both good mountain climbers and from skiing I knew how to find my way. I memorized everything because a map could not be found on us. First we went through vineyards, then there were only boulders. The most important was to find the Customs House otherwise one could be shot as a smuggler. After we had climbed for a long while, we heard voices below us and they came from the Customs House. We could not enter the house together because I had no visa, not even an ID card in another name. Lion, however, had his American entry visa in his pseudonym of Wetcheek. So he went ahead alone. I observed how he went into the Customs House from my hiding place and came out soon thereafter walking down the mountain with a satisfied demeanor. After that, I also went into the Customs House and Bingham's advice was again accurate. He had told us that one could achieve a lot in Spain with Camel cigarettes and he had filled my backpack and the pockets of my suit with many packs. So I went into the Customs House and told them I had heard that there was a high duty on cigarettes and I decided not to take them, I preferred leaving them here - and I threw a whole bunch of packs on the table. They all grabbed the packs, and one of them quickly stamped a paper I gave him without looking at the name. I have never gone down a mountain so fast." POSTSCRIPT by Marta Feuchtwanger in 1987 to the book "Der Teufel In Frankreich," originally published by Lion Feuchtwanger in 1942. Translation from German to English Pages 227 to 236 by Ralph M. Hockley (whose family Harry also rescued).

11/26/00: The TV History Channel featured Harry and three other "righteous diplomats" on the Sunday night World Premiere History Undercover program entitled "Diplomats for the Damned" at 10PM ET/PT. The one-hour prime-time TV program schedule noted: "Years before the Allies defeated the Nazis, a group of unsung heroes took lonely, defiant stands for humanity. Men like Carl Lutz of Switzerland, Aristides de Sousa Mendes of Portugal, Hiram Bingham of the United States and Georg Ferdinand Duckwitz of Germany secretly issued visas, falsified papers and cut backroom deals, risking their lives and careers to rescue Jews from the clutches of the Nazis." The program ended with several of Harry's children singing "Aura Lee" by his gravesite in Salem, Connecticut - a song he had taught them, among many. Program tapes can be purchased from the History Channel.

3/28/00: US Senate support: Thirty-six United States Senators endorsed the Hiram Bingham IV postage stamp proposal in a letter to the USPS. Many thanks to Senator Joe Lieberman for sponsoring the Senate circular, and to Ms Ilene Pachman for her follow-up efforts. US Senators who signed the letter dated March 28, 2000 are: Joseph I. Lieberman, Christopher J. Dodd, Richard G. Lugar, Paul Wellstone, Wayne Allard, Max Cleland, Spencer Abraham, Charles E. Grassley, Thomas Daschle, Russell D. Feingold, Charles E. Schumer, Rod Grams, Patty Murray, Carl Levin, Chuck Hagel, Mike DeWine, John W. Warner, Richard H. Bryan, Fred Thompson, Robert Torricelli, Slade Gorton, Rick Santorum, Barbara Boxer, Paul S. Sarbanes, Richard J. Durbin, Arlen Specter, John Ashcroft, Frank R. Lautenberg, Daniel Patrick Moynihan, Robert J. kerry, John F. Kerry, Barbara A. Milkulski, Edward M. Kennedy, Harry Reid, Gordon Smith and Tim Johnson. And thank you, Senators.

3/9/00: US House support: The New London Day reported that [former] Rep. Sam Gejdenson is petitioning members of the Citizens Stamp Advisory Committee to endorse a stamp honoring the late Hiram Bingham IV. "Gejdenson urged the endorsement in a letter to the committee, which recommends stamps to the U.S. Postal Service. Thirty-four members of Congress signed the letter....To demonstrate broader support for the stamp, Gejdenson urged his colleagues in Congress to join him in urging endorsement of the stamp...." The following House Members signed the letter: Sam Gejdenson, Norman Sisisky, Luis V. Gutierrez, Charles B. Rangel, Robert T. Matsui, Jerrold Nadler, Martin Frost, Howard L. Berman, Henry A. Waxman, Sander Levin, Bob Filner, Tom Lantos, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, Michael R. McNulty, Bernie Sanders, Rush Holt, Grace F. Napolitano, John B. Larson, Dennis J. Kucinich, Steven C. LaTourette, Rosa L. DeLauro, Lloyd Doggett, Frank Pallone, Jr., Carrie P. Meek, Anthony Weiner, Pete Stark, Peter Deutch, Janice Schakowsky, Robert Wexler, Max Sandlin, Bob Borski, James Greenwood, John Lewis, David E. Bonior, Bob Etheridge. Special thanks goes to former Congressman Gejdenson for this worthy effort, with heartfelt thanks also to the above Representatives who joined him. Additionally, I thank the Norwich Bulletin for prominently featuring the Hiram Bingham IV stamp drive on its front page on March 11, 2000. RKB

UN Honors Harry: The April 3, 2000 "Visas For Life" Exhibit Opening at the United Nations was a SUCCESS AND A MOVING EXPERIENCE (news accounts attached). More than 30 Bingham descendants, spouses, in-laws and hundreds of other "righteous diplomat" descendants, and in-laws and survivors of the Holocaust attended the ceremony in the General Assembly Great Hall. Elie Wiesel, Honorary Chairman of the UN righteous diplomat, exhibit gave a brilliant keynote address.

4/4/00: Statehouse support: The Connecticut State Legislature unanimously endorsed the Bingham commemorative stamp proposa: "For the first time in history," all 151 state representatives and all 36 senators endorsed a proposa, without exception. Congratulations to the two State Representatives who worked tirelessly on this stamp endorsement: Rob Simmons, R-Stonington (now newly-elected Congressman), and Linda Orange, D-Colchester. [Governor John Rowland and Lieutenant Governor Jodi Rell had already endorsed the Bingham stamp proposal.]

Governor John G. Rowland designated April 3, 2000 as "Hiram Bingham IV Day in the State of Connecticut" :

"WHEREAS, Hiram Bingham IV courageously followed his conscience by writing ‘visas for life' and affidavits of eligibility for passage and organizing refugees' escapes from Europe, yet many people in the world have still not learned of this courageous man; now

THEREFORE, I, JOHN G. ROWLAND, GOVERNOR, DO HEREBY OFFICIALLY DESIGNATE April 3, 2000 as HIRAM BINGHAM IV DAY in the State of Connecticut."

11/1/00: Reliable sources say the UNITED STATES POSTAL SERVICE is finally considering the Hiram Bingham IV stamp proposal "for 2003," which year is very appropriate since Harry's 100th birthday anniversary falls on July 17, 2003 -- a HOPEFUL SIGN.

10/25/00: LA Times columnist Mike Downey wrote a very supportive piece about Hiram Bingham IV, titled "A Holocaust Story of Heroism and History's Neglect." He invited outgoing President Clinton to "[ do] something" for Harry: "Before he cleans out his Oval Office desk for the last time, maybe Bill Clinton could consider doing something on behalf of Harry Bingham. It's only 60 years overdue. Rabbi David Baron, for one, would have no objection to this. He knows an unsung hero when he hears of one. It's just that like millions of Americans, he hadn't heard of Harry Bingham, at least until a couple of years ago.... Today, there will be teaching guides and a new film that can help educate young people--plus older ones, hearing these stories for the first time--about Harry Bingham and other courageous men like him. On film there is 'Diplomats for the Damned,' which examines non-Jewish men of authority who put their careers and lives in jeopardy during the Holocaust."

September 2000: "CONNECTICUT MAGAZINE" reminds readers to watch Harry on TV: The magazine wrote of 'Holocaust Hero' Hiram Bingham IV, at page 168, reminding readers of the History Channel's History Under Cover program "Diplomats for the Damned....including Connecticut's own Harry Bingham."

7/26/00. My wife Anne and I returned from Geneva, Switzerland, where the UN exhibited the "righteous diplomats," with Hiram Bingham IV among the honorees. The UN-Geneva exhibit, coincidentally, opened on Harry's birthday, July 17, 2000. In a speech at the reception for ambassadors, visitors, diplomatic children, and media, James Foley, Deputy U.S. Representative to the UN, happily acknowleged America's "own" diplomat Hiram Bingham among the honorees. As Harry's son, I was asked to waive to the audience. It was a very exciting moment for us and for the other righteous diplomats' children, who had a delightful three-day reunion, which included a ferry-boat ride on Geneva Lake to the picturesque medieval French city of Yvoire. RKB

7/26/00: The Lyman Allyn Museum at Connecticut College and the Jewish Federation of Eastern Connecticut exhibited the WWII "righteous diplomats," including local hero, Harry. They also collected over 1,000 signatures from attendees, on 16 petitions, supporting the HBIV stamp. I proudly forwarded these petitions to the Postmaster General.--RKB

3/9/01: Harry's nephew Stephen Bingham writes: "I think my favorite memories of Uncle Harry are his various athletic endeavors. When we were still at Salem School, your father was getting all of us enthused about "Florball" and all the other games that could be played in the "Sportatron" (Harry's patented 24'- long sport court). It never made sense to me why there weren't Sportatrons everywhere. Uncle Harry felt so strongly that all of you [his eleven children] should be good athletes! A contrast with my family when we were growing up. He was good at whatever sport he was playing, especially as I remember, tennis...." SMB,California

HARRY'S CHILDREN PROUDLY PROMOTE HIS NEWLY-INVENTED "FLORBALL RACQUETS." (Circa 1949)

Harry's "Sportatron" with red-striped roof at the family's Salem, Connecticut home,
circa 1980.  Harry's eleven children played exciting games in the Sportatron for years.

4/20/00, the Citizens' Stamp Advisory Committee met in Washington, DC, and sources say the Hiram Bingham IV stamp proposal received a "favorable reading." The USPS, which acts on the committee's recommendations, typically announce any stamp acceptance in the Fall of the year before its issuance. RKB

5/4/00: Present at an elegant 1000-person dinner sponsored by the American Jewish Committee in honor of the "Righteous Diplomats" at Union Station's Convention Center, Washington, DC was Madeleine Albright, keynote speaker. Before her speech, she walked to the Bingham family table adjacent to hers and warmly shook hands with each of Harry's children, Abigail, Robert Kim, and William and their spouses. This gracious gesture seemed to indicate a 180-degree turn around by the State Department since the department transferred Harry out of Marseilles almost 60 years ago, for violating its policy by rescuing people from the Holocaust. The children of the honored diplomats were asked to stand and received an ovation. RKB

April 30 and May 11, 2000: On April 30, the Jewish Federation of Eastern Connecticut awarded the Bingham family an elaborate menorah in appreciation of their father's bravery during the Holocaust. The gift was on display during the lovely exhibition at the Lyman Allyn Museaum, which ran through mid-July 2000. At the (second) May 11 opening, Governor Rowland personally proclaimed "Hiram Bingham IV Day in the State of Connecticut," calling Harry Connecticut's "international hero."