EASLEY, S.C. (WSPA) – A post office in Easley was dedicated to the memory of a soldier who died in the line of duty.
On Wednesday, Rep. Jeff Duncan (R – SC) hosted a dedication ceremony at Easley City Hall. During that ceremony, the local post office will be dedicated as the “Private First Class Barrett Lyle Austin Post Office Building.”
Austin was a private first class in the Army on deployment to the Wardak Province in Afghanistan in 2013 when he was injured by an insurgent attack during which a bomb exploded.
Austin suffered massive head and chest trauma in the attack. He died in Germany on April 21, 2013 at the age of 20 and was posthumously awarded a Purple Heart, Bronze Star, Palmetto State Hero award and the S.C. Governor’s Award for Extraordinary Sacrifice and heroism.
Austin was a 2011 graduate of Pickens High School and a member of Rock Springs Baptist Church in Easley.
In 2022, Duncan sponsored legislation to dedicate the Easley post office to Austin’s memory. It passed the House of Representatives in May and was signed into law by Pres. Joe Biden in October.
The U.S. Postal Service said this is only the 14 post office to be dedicated in South Carolina.
