WASHINGTON, DC — the U.S. House of Representatives passed Congresswoman Laura Friedman’s (CA-30) legislation to designate the United States Postal Service facility on San Fernando Road in Glendale, California, as the “Paul Ignatius Post Office.” The bill now heads to the Senate, where it is led by Senator Schiff.
A recording of Friedman speaking on the House Floor today in support of this legislation can be found here.
Paul Ignatius was born in Glendale in 1920 to Armenian immigrant parents who fled persecution overseas and put down roots on San Fernando Road. The same street where, as a young man, Paul clerked at the very post office that will carry his name. He answered the call in World War II as a naval officer and went on to serve eight years across two presidential administrations as Assistant Secretary of the Army, Under Secretary of the Army, Assistant Secretary of Defense, and ultimately as Secretary of the Navy. His honors include the Army, Navy, and Department of Defense Distinguished Public Service Awards. The Navy named a guided-missile destroyer, the USS Paul Ignatius, after him. He continued giving back to his community well past his hundredth birthday, passing away last fall at the age of 104.
“Paul Ignatius is the kind of American we should all aspire to be. The son of immigrants who fled persecution, he built a new life in this country, answered the call to serve under presidents of both parties, and went home and kept giving back to his community right up to the very end,” said Congresswoman Laura Friedman (CA-30). “As we approach our nation’s 250th anniversary, his story is exactly the one we should be telling.”
The legislation brought together Democrats and Republicans from the California Delegation. Friedman urged the Senate to take up and pass the bill without delay so the designation can be signed into law.
