A ceremony was held to commemorate the renaming of the Crystal Lake post office in honor of a U.S. Marine corporal who was killed in a bombing in Iraq in 2006.
U.S. Congressman Sean Casten (D-IL) and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) introduced legislation in March 2022 for a name change at the U.S. Post Office at 301 East Congress Parkway in Crystal Lake.
The legislation proposed renaming the building to “Ryan J. Cummings Post Office Building.”
The bill passed the House in November and the Senate in December.
It was sent to President Joe Biden and he signed it into law in late December.
Cummings was a U.S. Marine corporal and died on June 3, 2006, while serving during Operation Iraqi Freedom.
He died from wounds suffered when an improvised explosive device detonated in Balad, Iraq, causing the vehicle Cummings was in to rollover.
“He was best known for his smile and his humorous nature,” said Lt. Col. David J. Furness, the commander of Cummings’ battalion, in 2006 at the time of Cummings’ death.
“His sense of humor, up-beat personality and positive nature ‘no matter how dire and dear the circumstances’ made him a valued friend and one of the most popular Marines in Bravo Company,” Furness said.
Cummings was originally from Crystal Lake and had lived in Streamwood before he was deployed.
A ceremony was held on June 4 commemorating the renaming of the post office.
Casten led the ceremony, which was attended by multiple USPS employees, Crystal Lake Mayor Haig Haleblian, John Cummings — the father of Ryan Cummings — and several others.