New U.S. stamp features CT diplomat who saved Jews By Stacey Dresner The late Hiram "Harry" Bingham IV, a Connecticut resident who saved the lives of Jews in France by issuing visas during World War II, has been honored with a commemorative stamp issued this spring by the United States Postal Service. Bingham's stamp is a part of "Distinguished American Diplomats," a set of stamps which honors six American diplomats for their "contributions to international relations - not only as negotiators and administrators - but also as trailblazers, shapers of policy, peacemakers and humanitarians" according to the U.S. Postal Service. Bingham, a native of Salem and the son of former Connecticut Governor and U.S. Senator Hiram Bingham III, served as a U.S. vice consul in charge of visas in Marseilles, France. In 1940 and 1941, Bingham issued visas to 2,500 Jews and other European refugees, enabling them to escape the Nazis during World War II. Bingham was reprimanded for his actions, since issuing some of the visas violated U.S. regulations and immigration policies, and he was transferred to Portugal, and then Argentina. In 1945, he resigned from Foreign Service and returned to the United States. He died in Salem in 1988. Bingham was one of the diplomats featured in 2001 in the "Visas for Life: The Righteous and Honorable Diplomats," exhibit which traveled around the country to honor diplomats who helped Jewish during the war. In Connecticut, the exhibit was featured in both the University of Hartford and Connecticut College in New London. The effort to honor Bingham with a postage stamp was led by his son Robert Kim Bingham and U.S. Rep. Rob Simmons.