For the past five years, wives and children of nisei soldiers in California have petitioned the Postal Service to create a stamp commemorating their heroics during World War II.

The result: rejection letters.

Now, these family members are taking their letter-writing campaign to another level, recruiting neighbors, co-workers, friends and even lawmakers to get the Postal Service's attention.

They're getting signatures on petitions, lobbying lawmakers in key states, setting up Web sites and spreading the word about their grassroots efforts.

So far, the California-based group — called the Nisei World War II Soldiers Stamp Campaign — has about 5,000 signatures and hundreds of letters of support. (Nisei are second-generation Japanese-Americans.)

And now they're targeting Hawai'i.

"It's a key state for the campaign," said Wayne Osako, campaign coordinator and nephew of five nisei soldiers. "We need to build awareness, to get people empowered to take action. That's critical."

The group wants people to sign its petition — which can be found at www.minorityvetstamps.org — and write letters to the Postal Service's Citizens' Stamp Advisory Committee, which evaluates stamp proposals from the public, urging its members to consider a postage stamp honoring the nisei soldiers.

In addition, the group is encouraging people to call their state and congressional lawmakers to get their support and push for the commemorative stamp.

So far, only Arizona has passed a state resolution for a series of stamps that include the nisei soldiers. (This series would also feature the Tuskegee airmen and Navajo code talkers.)

The group is hoping to get similar support from California, New Mexico, Utah and Hawai'i.

"We believe that the contributions and sacrifices of nisei World War II soldiers are a shining example of patriotism that deserves commemoration on a U.S. stamp," Osako said. "These are living legends."

The all-Japanese-American units that served in World War II received more than 18,000 individual decorations, including 21 Medals of Honor, 559 Silver Stars, 4,000 Bronze Stars and an astounding 9,486 Purple Hearts.

The 442nd Regimental Combat Team, which suffered more than 800 casualties during the war, is considered the most highly decorated combat unit of its size and length of service in U.S. military history, receiving eight Presidential Unit Citations.

Fusako Takahashi, 80, of Gardena, Calif., didn't know much about the contribution of nisei soldiers until she read a speech by noted historian Eric Saul.

And she was married to a Military Intelligence Service veteran.

"I had no idea what the nisei went through," said Takahashi, whose late husband, Kazuo, didn't talk much about the war. "It's really something. When I read that, I thought, 'They really deserve something.' "

She got involved in the campaign a few years ago, writing letters to the Citizens' Stamp Advisory Committee and lawmakers to get their support.

"A stamp is more than just local, it's universal," said Takahashi, a nisei born in Stockton, Calif. "So I felt this is a good way (to honor them). It's a kind of lasting tribute."

Osako hopes the Postal Service issues a commemorative stamp in the next five years, when many of the aging veterans will still be around to see it.

"It troubles me to see the Postal Service chooses to honor fictional cartoons and movie characters in front of this patriotic story that deserves commemoration," he said. "This is an American story of diversity, one ... that should be remembered ... We want to shake up the Postal Service to understand and come to realize that."

Reach Catherine E. Toth at ctoth@honoluluadvertiser.com.