Arizona post office name change honors local heroes

Postmark Pursuit by Molly Goad

The post office in Lake Havasu City, Ariz. has been renamed to honor the brave local veterans who died in combat, and the pictorial postmark shown here commemorates the occasion.

In 2019 Congress passed a bill to change the name of the post office located at 1750 McCulloch Blvd. North to “Lake Havasu City Combat Veterans Memorial Post Office Building.”

The bill was sponsored in the House by Arizona Congressman Paul A. Gosar.

“America can never truly repay the debt to our fallen men and women in uniform,” Gosar said in a statement. “My hope is that renaming this post office as the Lake Havasu City Combat Veterans Memorial Post Office will serve as a reminder to all that our freedom is not free.”

The new moniker salutes the six Lake Havasu City men who lost their lives defending the United States. In 1968 Carey Dean Harmon was the first soldier from the area to lose his life in Vietnam. Helicopter pilot Scott Broadston also died in Vietnam during a combat assault in 1970.

Patrick Tinnell gave his life in 2006 during the war on terror in Siniyah, Iraq. Tinnell’s mother, Debbie Tinnell, is Lake Havasu City’s postmaster.

Anthony Sausto lost his life fighting in Baghdad, Iraq, in 2007, and Dylan Reid perished in Amarah, Iraq, in 2010. Sweden-born Carl Hammar moved to Lake Havasu during high school; he died in Afghanistan in 2012.

The name switch was made official in early September 2020 with a dedication ceremony that included Gosar, Mayor Cal Sheehy and other city council members.

To obtain the postmark, which has been extended for 30 days, address your request to: COMBAT VETERANS Station, Postmaster, 1750 McCulloch Blvd. N., Lake Havasu City, AZ 86403-9998, Sept. 4.

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