Bill to rename Rolling Bay Post Office passes House of Representatives

Published 12:29 pm Tuesday, March 17, 2009

A bill to rename the Rolling Bay Post Office building in honor of Medal of Honor recipient and former island resident John “Bud” Hawk cleared the House of Representatives Tuesday.

The bill was passed by a voice vote and will continue on to the Senate.

Rep. Jay Inlsee of Bainbridge, who sponsored H.R. 955, said the bill was intended to honor Hawk’s service in World War II and his long career as an educator in Kitsap County.

“(Hawk) was a hero in the 1940s but was also a hero for several decades to the students he educated,” Inslee said on the House floor Tuesday. “I just want to commend him for both of those acts of heroism.”

H.R. 955 was supported by Washington’s entire House delegation.

Rep. Darrell Issa of California also spoke in favor the bill.

“Bud Hawk embodies, in every sense, the word ‘hero,'” Issa said.

If passed, H.R. 955 would install a plaque at the Rolling Bay Post Office honoring Hawk, and would officially change the name of the facility. Addresses would not be changed.

Hawk grew up in the Rolling Bay area and graduated from Bainbridge High School in 1943. He joined the Army shortly after high school and was shipped to the European front. President Harry Truman awarded Hawk the Medal of Honor for acts of bravery during the battle of Falaise Pocket in France.

Following military service Hawk served as a teacher and principal in Kitsap schools. He now lives in Bremerton.

Read the full text of H.R. 955. See a C-SPAN video of Jay Inslee’s remarks on the House floor Tuesday below, courtesy of Inslee’s office.