Medal of Freedom
The Postmaster General's Medal of Freedom was
created to recognize outstanding individual contributions to the Postal Service.
The men and women of the Postal Service perform heroic acts every day. They live
their lives with duty, honor and pride. Some go beyond even that, performing
acts of special courage or heroism, suffering injury or making the ultimate
sacrifice in service to others. They are awarded the Postmaster General's Medal
of Freedom.
The medal was designed by Dan Mihalko and Frank Papandrea, both postal
employees, and is made out of silver nickel and hand painted with blue and red
accent paints. Benjamin Franklin, first Postmaster General under the Continental
Congress, is featured on the front of the medal along with the words Postmaster
General Medal of Freedom. The Postal Service eagle and the words United States
Postal Service are on the back. The medal is attached to a red, white and blue
ribbon.
The very first recipients of the Medal of Freedom were Thomas Morris, Jr., a
mail processor, and Joseph Curseen, Jr., a distribution clerk. Both men worked
at the Brentwood mail processing facility in Washington, D.C., and both died in
October 2001 of inhalation anthrax. The medals were presented to their widows at
a memorial service held by the Postal Service in their honor on November 13,
2001, at the All Souls Church, Unitarian, in northwest Washington, D.C.
As Postmaster General Jack Potter presented the medals, he recognized the heroic
contributions of Postal Service employees, saying, "Neither snow, nor rain,
nor gloom of night, nor winds of change, nor a nation challenged will stay them
from the swift completion of their appointed rounds. Ever."
"We will never forget you!"
Goleta
They came a thousand strong — families, friends and co-workers of the six
victims of last month’s shooting at the Santa Barbara P&DC — to a
memorial program held at the University of California, Santa Barbara. They came
to remember the joy, the laughter, the kindness — the lives — of Charlotte
Colton, Maleka Higgins, Ze Fairchild, Nicola Grant, Dexter Shannon and Guadalupe
Swartz.
Each was remembered at Sunday’s memorial for
the things that made their lives special — Colton's tireless work with her
sons’ Scout troops, Higgins’ love for her husband and infant daughter,
Fairchild’s Laotian background and the red rose her husband gave her the day
before the tragedy, Grant’s devotion to her husband and children, Shannon’s
love for his extended family, and Swartz, whose son, Donny, followed in her
footsteps and is a Santa Maria customer service supervisor.
Pacific Area Vice President Al Iniguez presented family members of each victim
with the Postmaster General’s Medal of Freedom. "I've never gone through
anything like this before," Iniguez told those in attendance, "but I
am amazed at the outpouring of support you have shown."
