ROOTSTOWN, OH — The Rootstown Post Office Building will be dedicated as the Marine Sgt. Jeremy E. Murray Post Office Building during an hour-long public ceremony at 10:00 a.m. on Monday, June 18, 2012. The ceremony will be held at the Grace Church of Rootstown, 4804 Tallmadge Road, Rootstown, Ohio, 44272. Guest speakers will include U.S. Congressman Tim Ryan, United States Senator Sherrod Brown, USPS Northern Ohio District Manager Todd Hawkins, and Harold Murray, Marine Sergeant Murray’s father.

From a young age, Marine Corps Sergeant Jeremy E. Murray had a strong desire to serve his country. According to his mother, Pam, Murray talked constantly about joining the military.

Murray joined the U.S. Army Infantry Division of the Airborne Rangers in 1996, after graduating from Waterloo High School in Atwater Township. “He prepared so well prior to attending boot camp that he was able to break down a rifle faster than his superiors,” said Pam.

Murray left the U.S. Army at the end of his two-year enlistment and married Megan Ferringer of Stow. The couple had one son, Ian. Still wanting to serve his country, Murray reentered military life in 2000, joining the United States Marine Corps. He was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, 1st Marine Expeditionary Force, and served three tours of duty in Iraq.

Tragically, on November 16, 2005, Sergeant Murray was killed by a roadside improvised explosive device (IED) outside of Fallujah. Sergeant Murray was 27 years old. He was awarded the Purple Heart and twice awarded the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal for bravery.

On June 29, 2011, legislation to designate the Post Office building located at 4865 Tallmadge Rd, Rootstown, Ohio, as the Marine Sgt. Jeremy E. Murray Post Office Building was signed into law by President Barack Obama. The legislation was introduced in the Senate by Senator Sherrod Brown and in the House of Representatives by Congressman Tim Ryan.

Murray once told his father, “If I don’t come home, Dad, you know I died proudly. I died for what I wanted to do. This is my lifetime dream.”

The Postal Service receives no tax dollars for operating expenses and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations.

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