Cedar Rapids post office gets new name to honor soldier

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KCRG-TV9) - A post office in Cedar Rapids is officially named after Sergeant First Class Terryl L. Pasker.

A plaque with his name on it was unveiled at a ceremony Saturday. The plaque will hang inside the building.

Terryl Pasker was in the national guard and was killed in Afghanistan just days before the end of his combat tour. He was 39-years-old.

Friends and family remember Pasker as selfless and brave, someone who always wanted to make people laugh.

"In the end, we're together and the bonds you build are beyond those that most people remember and understand or even ask about," Colonel Tim Glynn said.

Senators Joni Ernst and Chuck Grassley and Representative Rod Blum spoke at the ceremony.

"It's a phenomenal story of sacrifice, the ultimate sacrifice and the more we learned about him, the more we determined that we wanted to do something to honor his memory and the memory of all of our fallen heroes," Blum said.

In order to rename a post office, legislation had to make its way through Washington, and get the signature of President Obama.

“Senator Grassley and I signed the bill on the Senate side, but then letting our colleagues know how important it was to name this post office after Sergeant first class Terryl Pasker just as a way to honor his memory, honor his family and service and sacrifice that was given not only by Terryl, but by his family as well," Ernst said.

June Martindale, the Cedar Rapids postmaster says she's honored to be a part of all of it.

"It's a wonderful honor, we have employees that served with Sergeant Pasker," Martindale said, "We really are a big advocate of veterans the post office employs about 1 of every 4 is a veteran so it means a lot."