Rep. Steve Stivers, a Republican who represents Madison County as part of Ohio’s 15th Congressional District, introduced legislation last week to name the London Post Office at 25 S. Oak St., in memory of Marine Lance Corporal Josh McDaniels.
The 21-year-old McDaniels was killed in action on June 12, 2011, while serving with a mine detection unit in Helmand Province in Afghanistan
BY JANE BEATHARD
Rep. Steve Stivers, a Republican who represents Madison County as part of Ohio’s 15th Congressional District, introduced legislation last week to name the London Post Office at 25 S. Oak St., in memory of Marine Lance Corporal Josh McDaniels.
The 21-year-old McDaniels was killed in action on June 12, 2011, while serving with a mine detection unit in Helmand Province in Afghanistan.
“This is a small measure Congress can take to honor the lives of all…brave service members who gave the ultimate sacrifice for our freedoms,” Stivers said in a press release.
The bill also designates post offices on Dartmoor Road in Grove City and Riverside Drive in Columbus be named in memory of two other casualties of the war in Afghanistan.
“All three of these men deserve to be properly honored for their courageous service and I thank God every day that heroes like these stand on the front lines and protect our freedom,” Stivers added.
If passed, the legislation would name London’s facility as the “Lance Corporal Joshua B. McDaniels and Veterans Memorial Post Office Building.” McDaniels was a 2008 graduate of London High School where he was a wrestling and football standout.
He captained the football team during his senior year and was selected second team all-county as a defensive end. He married Adrianna Powell McDaniels, also a London High School graduate, in September 2010.
McDaniels joined the U.S. Marine Corps in 2010 and was deployed to Afghanistan in March 2011 as a member of the 2nd Combat Engineer Battalion, which is based at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. The mine-sweeping duty was hazardous and friends said McDaniels understood the risk involved. Published reports said he was killed as his unit walked a dirt road littered with hidden explosives.
Hundreds of people lined the funeral route as the young Marine’s body was carried from Rickenbacker International Airport to London. Hundreds more attended a public memorial service at the high school. His ashes were buried with full military honors in Arlington National Cemetery on July 19, 2011.
Brent and Janice McDaniels moved from London, but returned to their former Amherst Boulevard neighborhood following their son’s death. Last year, city council voted to name a small bridge on that street in honor of the fallen Marine.
Stivers’ aide Courtney Whetstone said the effort to name three central Ohio postal facilities in
honor of those killed in action was a first for the congressman. Other members of Congress, including Reps. Tim Ryan and Marcia Fudge of Ohio, have sponsored similar bills.
Introduced onto the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives on June 20, the legislation was referred to the Oversight Government Reforms Committee for consideration. The committee oversees operations of the U.S. Postal Service.
At some future point, the full House will vote on the legislation before it moves to the U.S. Senate for deliberation. “Rep. Stivers will work hard to get it passed,” Whetstone said.
