Local officials held a ceremony at the Grayslake post office on Monday after the facility was renamed in honor of a Lake County native and Army soldier killed in Afghanistan.
U.S. Congressman Brad Schneider (IL-10) introduced bipartisan legislation in May 2022 to rename the post office in Grayslake to “Army Specialist Joseph ‘Joey’ W. Dimock II Post Office Building.”
The legislation passed the House unanimously and was sent to the Senate where it also passed.
“Our nation honors the men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice in service to their country. We are called on to recount their stories and keep their memories alive,” Schneider said when he introduced the legislation.
Army SPC Joey Dimock joined the Army and began his service in August 2007.
He served for nearly three years with the 1st Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment.
Dimock was serving his third overseas deployment, his second in Afghanistan supporting Operation Enduring Freedom, when he died on July 10, 2010, during an explosion in Salerno, Afghanistan.
Dimock received several awards through his years of service to our country, including the Bronze Star Medal and Army Commendation Medal.
“Army Ranger Joey Dimock died a hero in Afghanistan. Joey is a role model to all who knew him, and I hope that, with this memorialization of Joey’s life, his service and bravery may serve as a model for all of Grayslake and that his memory will always be a blessing,” Schneider said.
Dimock was born in Libertyville and grew up in Wildwood. He graduated from Warren Township High School in Gurnee.
He was a member of the Wildwood Presbyterian Church, Boy Scout Troop 672 where he achieved the rank of Eagle Scout, and swam on the Warren Blue Devils swim team.
On Monday, exactly 13 years after Dimock died, Schneider held a ceremony marking the post office’s renaming.
Those in attendance included Ellen Dimock, the mother of Joey Dimock, along with USPS Central Area Vice President Eric Henry, acting Illinois 1 District Manager Jewel Morrow, Post Office Operations Manager Ben Giese and Mayor Rhett Taylor of Grayslake.
“In the words of his commanding officer, ‘Ranger Dimock represented everything that was right with America.’ In keeping his memory alive, we ensure that his life lived remains a blessing for us all,” Schneider said.