Washington, DC - The National Press Club, America's oldest and most prestigious journalism organization, will host the dedication ceremony of five "American Journalists" stamps honoring Martha Gellhorn, John Hersey, George Polk, Ruben Salazar and Eric Sevareid on April 22 at 11 a.m. in the Holeman Lounge as part of the year long celebration of the Press Club’s 100th anniversary.

Working in radio, television or print, these distinguished journalists filed stories from hot spots at home and abroad, bringing back reports of conflicts and issues that helped Americans better understand some of the world’s most tumultuous events.

Martha Gellhorn (1908–1998) covered the Spanish Civil War, World War II and the Vietnam War in a long career that broke new ground for women. With her constant focus on harm to civilians, her reporting was considered a morally courageous model. During World War II, she stowed away on a hospital ship in the D-Day fleet and went ashore as a stretcher bearer. In addition to writing numerous novels, her work appeared in Collier’s, Atlantic Monthly and the Guardian. She was married to Ernest Hemingway.

John Hersey (1914–1993) was a versatile writer whose most famous work, Hiroshima, describes what happened when the U.S. dropped an atomic bomb on the Japanese city. It has been acclaimed as the greatest work of journalism of the 20th century. His work has also appeared in Time, Life and The New Yorker.

George Polk (1913–1948) was a talented young CBS radio correspondent who filed hard-hitting radio bulletins from Greece describing the strife that erupted there after World War II. He was working on reports of corruption involving U.S. aid when he disappeared. His body was found a week later. The exact circumstances of his death remain a mystery.

Ruben Salazar (1928–1970) was the first Mexican-American journalist to have a major voice in mainstream news media. His writings in the Los Angeles Times and segments at KMEX-TV on the Chicano movement of the 1960s added richly to the historical record. While in Los Angeles covering a Vietnam War protest Salazar was shot in the head and killed by a tear gas projectile fired by a deputy sheriff.

Eric Sevareid (1912–1992) was a writer for the New York Herald Tribune and later a broadcast journalist for CBS radio recruited by Edward R. Murrow. He covered World War II, reporting on the approach of the Germans to Paris, the exodus from the city and on life in London during wartime. In 1943, en route to China, Sevareid parachuted from a disabled plane and emerged from the jungle on foot some time later. His later television commentaries in the 1960s and 1970s on the CBS Evening News were widely admired. Sevareid was a recipient of the National Press Club Fourth Estate Award giving for lifetime achievement in journalism.

As the Club celebrates its centennial year, it continues its tradition as the center of news and information in Washington. Widely recognized for the National Press Club speakers series; the Club is the foremost venue for press conferences in D.C. While still a meeting place for journalists and news sources, the club has positioned itself as a full-service facility for the researching, reporting, and dissemination of news, with its state-of-the-art Broadcast Operations Center and an expanding array of training programs to serve the Club's 3,500 members in Washington and worldwide.