The U.S. Postal Service will observe the 50th anniversary of the announcement of the Marshall Plan during Harvard's 1947 Commencement address by issuing a Marshall Plan commemorative stamp at Harvard.

Postal Governor Einar Dyhrkopp will officiate at the stamp ceremony at noon on Wednesday, June 4, at the ARCO Forum at the Kennedy School of Government.

The ceremony will be held in conjunction with a three-day international symposium at the University, "Retrospect and Renewal: U.S.-European Cooperation Fifty Years After the Marshall Plan."

On June 5, 1947, while delivering the Commencement address at Harvard, George C. Marshall outlined a plan of action for the United States and the Allied nations to strengthen western Europe against Soviet expansion and communist rule. Marshall's speech detailed the necessity of a four-year plan of economic assistance for 16 European nations that had been decimated by the war.

"The nation and the world owe a debt of gratitude to George C. Marshall," said Postmaster General Marvin Runyon. "Marshall's plan helped define this century."

The stamp ceremony is free and open to the public. The stamp will go on sale at the Information Center in Holyoke Center on Thursday.