It was 1939, and Monroe Wingate was just 9 years old when his father returned home from a business trip with a little package of German stamps. Two of them depicted an eagle circling the world with a swastika. Hitler’s invasion of Europe was all over the news and the young boy knew he was holding a piece of history.

Today is Martin Luther King Jr. Day — On this holiday, we celebrate one of the great civil rights leaders of the 20th century. The Rev. King challenged Americans to uphold the Declaration of Independence’s promise “...that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”