EASLEY, S.C. (WSPA)- Two post offices in the Upstate could soon be renamed after two fallen soldiers.
If passed, a bill introduced by Congressman Jeff Duncan would change the name of a post office in Easley and another one in Pickens to honor Charles Johnson Jr. and Barrett Lyle Austin.
Specialist Charles Johnson Jr and Private First Class Barrett Lyle Austin, both are from the Upstate and both are heroes who made the ultimate sacrifice for our country.
Johnson was killed in the Vietnam War in 1966.
Austin died in 2013, after his vehicle was attacked by enemy forces in Afghanistan.
Austin’s dad, Curt Austin, said he always wanted to be in the military.
“He was very people oriented and people minded. From an early age I think he had in his mind that he was going to save the world,” Curt Austin said. “With the impact of 9/11, that certainly had a bearing on his impact of wanting to serve in the armed forces.”
To honor their lives, Congressman Jeff Duncan is proposing two post offices in their hometowns of Easley and Pickens take their names.
Austin’s family said to drive past a building every day with their son’s name on it, would mean everything to them.
“We’re just humbled as a family, that something like this would be done. I mean it’s certainly not something we would ever expect or ask for, so as a family we’re very grateful and very humbled,” Curt Austin said.
The bill would have to go through the House, Senate, and then be signed by President Joe Biden before it becomes law.
The bill was initially introduced by Congressman Duncan in 2021.
