Efforts renewed to rename post office for heroes
By: Tom Lindfors
NEW RICHMOND – Congressional efforts to rename the post office at 430 South Knowles Ave. in New Richmond after half-brothers and World War II veterans Capt. Robert C. Harmon and Pvt. John R. Peirson have been rejuvenated.
Bipartisan legislation to accomplish the feat was originally introduced by U.S. Sens. Tammy Baldwin and Ron Johnson in October 2019. The bill passed in the Senate in November of that same year but failed to move through the House of Representatives.
Johnson and Baldwin reintroduced their legislation again in October 2021.
On September 13, 2021, the New Richmond City Council passed a resolution in support of their bipartisan effort to rename the post office. That measure passed the U.S. Senate this May.
On June 30, Congressman Tom Tiffany in conjunction with members of the Wisconsin delegation introduced companion legislation to rename the New Richmond post office in honor of Harmon and Peirson and a second bill to rename the post office in Neillsville, WI, in honor of Cpl. Red Cloud.
“Capt. Harmon, Pvt. Peirson, and Cpl. Red Cloud personified patriotism and dedicated their lives to serving our country,” Tiffany said. “They loved their country, what it stood for, and defended it bravely right up until their selfless sacrifices. Renaming these two post offices is a small, but important, token of our gratitude.”
Peirson’s nephew, Jim Peirson, recalled his uncles’ legacies.
“I look back at my grandparents, and I can’t imagine having four boys in the military at one time during World War II,” he said.
When Harmon was drafted, he was a CPA working for Ernest & Ernest out of Detroit. He was shot down on May 29, 1944, one week before D-Day. He died on his 51st mission, a day before his 14-day leave.
Peirson came out of the University of Wisconsin. He, too, answered the call to serve with a wife and two young sons at home. He was hit by a sniper on a small island called Ie Shima (just off Okinawa) on April 17, 1945. The following day the famous war correspondent Ernie Pyle too lost his life on the same island, they were buried side by side.
“After the war, my grandparents had both of the boys brought home, and they are buried side by side at Fort Snelling National Cemetery,” Jim Peirson said.
Peirson expressed his family’s appreciation for the renewed legislative effort.
“Our family is deeply honored and humbled by the recent announcement by Congressman Tom Tiffany’s office. This is another example where our city has not forgotten, the great state of Wisconsin has not forgotten and most importantly our grateful nation has not forgotten the sacrifices made by the men and women who have served in our Armed Forces.”
American Legion Butler-Harmon Post 80 is named in part after Capt. Harmon. Post 80 and VFW Post 10818 New Richmond / St. Croix County have joined the New Richmond Chamber of Commerce in support of this legislation moving forward.
The bill is currently awaiting review by the House Oversight and Reform Committee.
Read the article here.