GALESBURG, Ill. — Galesburg’s post office was renamed the Senior Airman Daniel Miller Post Office in a ceremony Wednesday afternoon.
The move honors the late Daniel Miller Jr., a Galesburg native and graduate of ROWVA High School in Oneida, who served in the United States Air Force and earned the rank of Senior Airman.
He was killed in action in 2007 at 24 years old after attempting to defuse a car bomb in Al-Mahmudiyah, Iraq.
“It just felt like the absolute worst thing that could possibly happen,” Miller's sister, April VandeVoorde, said. “Time doesn’t heal wounds, it teaches you how to live with that grief.”
Congresswoman Cheri Bustos introduced legislation to rename the post office in Miller’s honor back in 2020, which was later signed into law in January 2021.
“He was a leader,” said Bustos. “It is our duty to remember his service”
Dozens of Galesburg community members gathered at the ceremony to remember the late Senior Airman, many describing him as “always smiling” and “caring about everyone.”
“Danny would be the last person who would want a big production for himself,” VandeVoorde said. “He’d also be the first person to push for it for anyone else.”
The renaming of the post office gives the opportunity for Miller’s legacy to be passed down for years to come.
Even if one person, standing in line at the post office, takes a moment to look up ‘Daniel Miller Jr.’ on the internet, his story will be shared with thousands of Galesburg residents.
“He isn’t just a causality of war or a name of a building. In life, he was a person to be admired, and in death, he is an example to be remembered” VandeVoorde said.
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