Kate Smith Washington Stamp Ceremony Story

Great site - been reading for a while now. I am enjoying all the hockey stories these days and I think I have another good one to add. I attended a great event in Washington, DC on Wednesday morning - the U.S. Postal Service stamp dedication for Kate Smith's newly released commemorative stamp. I think you had posted a story about this before, but what a thrill to be at the event, right at the Lincoln Memorial. I work down in Washington now, so it was an easy few blocks for me to head over.

After a wonderful Star Spangled Banner sung by Leigh Ann Hinton (US Army), the Postmaster General John Potter said a few words about Kate Smith's history and background. It was a story of three worlds. Most of the people there knew all about Kate's musical history and career, and how much she has meant to US military around the world. The Kate Smith Commemorative Society was even in attendance. What many of these people knew less about was what Kate Smith has meant to the Philadelphia Flyers and the city of Philadelphia since 1969. But lo and behold, there I was knowing that part of the story best, along with a few members of the Flyers family. And we were not just attending this event - the Flyers were front and center.

After remarks from Under Secretary of the Army, Joseph Westphal, who spoke of how much Kate and 'God Bless America' have meant to those in the armed services, the presentation moved towards our neck of the woods. Also there to give remarks on what Kate has meant to so many of us, even those of us too young to remember her, was Lou Scheinfeld, former Vice President of the Flyers and current director of the Spectrum closing, the man who back in 1969 asked the Spectrum sound staff to play a record he had found in a local shop.

Lou told the story about how in the late '60s, at a time of so much civil unrest occurring in the United States, there had developed some sense of apathy when the Star Spangled Banner was played at Flyers and Sixers games and other sporting events. As Lou told in part during HBO's Broad Street Bullies, people were sitting, doing other things, even napping. So, Lou decided to shake things up - initially considering playing something far from the national anthem, in an effort to get people simply to wake up and say they wanted the anthem back on. But then he discovered the record of Kate Smith singing 'God Bless America' - a song and singer he knew, but had not thought of until then. After playing the song through the loudspeakers of the Spectrum a few times with an empty arena, Lou decided it would happen.

In come the Toronto Maple Leafs, out comes Kate Smith. Lou asked then- and current-in house announcer Lou Nolan to ask the crowd to stand for Kate Smith as she sings 'God Bless America'. Some grumblings, some confused looks and exchanges - but people listened. Even Mr. Snider was surprised. And the Flyers won, something that was not a given back then. And on and on it went. Lou went on to describe how Kate's manager had not wanted her to sing at the games despite the team's invitations - "she has sung for presidents and kings and even the Pope!, not for a hockey game" - but apparently a family member had been sending her clippings. Kate wanted in. She offered to come to a game, and Lou said the Flyers would be happy to have her, singing or just attending. She was all in...except the dress she brought down from New York had gotten too wrinkled on the train ride down. Lou found a way through his assistant Maria to get the dress cleaned up just before game time and out went Kate Smith before a live Spectrum crowd. Game set match - another Flyers win, another historic moment for the young franchise.

As we all know, the song has been played many times over the years - over 120 now - but Lou made a point during his speech that made team ambassador, Joe Kadlec, who was also down in Washington, smile. Not only do the Flyers have a stunning 80% winning percentage when 'God Bless America' is played before games - now often joined in a duet with Lauren Hart, the legendary voice sprung from the legendary voice - but the Flyers have an 80% winning percentage with the song in big must-win games. I had never thought about it that way - it's quite amazing. Here was this wonderful world-famous singer, who Franklin Roosevelt once introduced to the King and Queen of England as "And this is Kate Smith, Kate is America", and she had become a thing of legend in a whole other world, taking up the flag again, this time for "her boys".

After the speeches and pictures, and many well wishes to Lou, Joe, their children in attendance and the Flyers in general (even from Caps and Rangers fans), we all listened to the beautiful song out on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, looking out upon the Reflecting Pool and the Washington Monument, flanked by the Korean and Vietnam War Memorials, with Kate's radiant smile looking down on us - 'God Bless America'.

I uploaded the video of the live 'God Bless America' by Sergeant First-Class Hinton here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ESPsDfszgM

USPS information on the stamp is available here - great job today by David Failor, Manager, Stamp Services, the Armed Forces Color Guard, the U.S. Army Band, Linda Kingsley, Ethel and Roy Betts and many others at the USPS, and the wonderfully talented designers of the stamp itself who were in attendance: http://www.usps.com/communications/newsroom/2010/pr10_057.htm