US Postal Service to issue stamp honoring Coast Guard Academy's 150th anniversary

By Alison Cross The Day, New London, Conn. Published September 8, 2026 · 3 hours ago

New London (Tribune News Service) — Few Americans can claim to have their photo on a U.S. postage stamp. Petty Officer 2nd Class Matthew Thieme and Petty Officer 1st Class Steven Strohmaier of the U.S. Coast Guard are now among this select group — technically speaking.

Thieme’s photograph of the USCG Barque Eagle and Strohmaier’s shot of the USCG cutter Bertholf are the featured images on a new stamp commemorating the U.S. Coast Guard Academy’s 150th anniversary.

The U.S. Postal Service is scheduled to release the stamp during a first-day-of-issue ceremony at the Maritime Heritage Festival on Saturday at 10 a.m. on the Custom House Pier at Waterfront Park. While the event is free, attendees are encouraged to register online.

“This special issue continues the long-standing postal tradition of honoring the nation’s premier military service institutions,” the Postal Service said in a statement.

More than 12 million U.S. Coast Guard Academy stamps have been printed for the release, according to the Postal Service.

“We are incredibly proud that the Postal Service has chosen to honor the Coast Guard Academy with this stamp,” Rear Adm. Gregory Rothrock, the academy’s superintendent, said in a statement. “This recognition highlights the critical importance of the Coast Guard to our nation’s security and our unwavering commitment to developing the next generation of Coast Guard officers.”

Design and Inspiration

The artist behind the stamp, Antonio Alcalá, who serves as an art director for the Postal Service’s stamp development program, said the stamp is designed to honor the past while underscoring the academy’s role in the present.

During the early design phase, Alcalá said visual research into the academy, its campus and training methods led him to the Eagle, which has served as the academy’s training vessel since 1946, and the Bertholf, the Coast Guard’s first Legend-class national security cutter, commissioned in 2008.

“It became clear early on that the visual element that distinguishes the Coast Guard Academy from the other service academies was the ship that all cadets sail on: The Eagle. It’s a beautiful ship,” Alcalá said in a statement. “And while the Eagle represents a more historical aspect of the academy, including the image of the USCGC Bertholf, a high-tech cutter helped communicate that the Coast Guard Academy is training graduates to use the most contemporary ships available to complete their mission.”

Alcalá added: “I hope people connected to the Coast Guard will feel honored by this stamp commemorating the academy on its 150th anniversary and feel pride at the recognition. I also hope the stamps help the American public appreciate the long and dedicated service to our nation by the academy.”

Photographer’s Perspective

When Petty Officer 1st Class Steven Strohmaier snapped a photo of the Bertholf near the Singapore Strait in February 2024, he had no idea it would end up on a U.S. postage stamp.

Now, Strohmaier can’t wait to use the Coast Guard Academy stamp when he and his wife send out birth announcements for their new baby boy, Ethan.

When news broke that his photo would be featured on the stamp two months ago, Strohmaier said his wife was a day away from going into labor.

“I got an email from the Pacific Area office in California, from the senior chief down there, and he said, ‘Hey, pretty sure this is your photo, and it’s slated to be on a stamp,’” Strohmaier said. “Obviously I was ecstatic, and then I had a follow-up email from the Postal Service, saying ‘Congrats.’”

“Not too many Americans can say that they get their picture on a stamp, so it was a very unique and very humbling experience to say the least,” Strohmaier added.

Since enlisting in the Coast Guard in 2012, Strohmaier has deployed on ships for national and international missions across the North Atlantic, Asia and the Arctic as a public affairs representative.

During his two months aboard the Bertholf, Strohmaier said the Coast Guard traveled to Singapore, Malaysia and India.

“We went to these small islands, and they had never had a U.S. Coast Guard ship there ever, period,” Strohmaier said. “It was a unique deployment that strengthened our relationships with those partner countries, and this photo is an awesome tribute to that ship and my time aboard.”

As a public affairs representative, Strohmaier, who now lives in Seattle, Washington, said it has been great to see the recognition.