WESTFIELD - The Westfield post office, located at 8 West Silver St., will host a renaming ceremony at 10 a.m. on June 22 to dedicate the building to William T. Trant.
A former Westfield postmaster, Trant served 33 years in the Postal Service, 14 years on the Westfield City Council and mayor in 1962.
A U.S. Army veteran of World War II, Trant was wounded in the first wave ashore in the D-Day assault on Utah Beach in June 1944 and wounded again six months later during the Battle of the Bulge.
Among other commendations, Trant was awarded a Purple Heart with one Oak Leaf Cluster and five Bronze Stars for his military service.
Trant, who died in 2002, was the father of nine children, including Daniel, a basketball star at Westfield High School and Clark University, who was killed in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center.
His daughter Sally Trant said her father would have been proud and humbled to have the Westfield post office named in his honor.
"This is a very proud day for our family. This dedication of the Westfield post office honors a man who was a true patriot, public servant and, according to those who served alongside him in World War II, a genuine hero. My dad loved the Postal Service and, were he here today, he would be humbled by this recognition of his service," she said.
The event will feature remarks from another of Trant’s sons, Timothy, who serves as legislative advisor to the chief of naval personnel and deputy chief of naval operations, in Washington, D.C.; U.S. Rep. Richard E. Neal. D-Springfield; Westfield Mayor Daniel M. Knapik; Postal Service District Manager David D. Mastroianni Jr.; Westfield Postmaster Mirta LaBoy and others.
A special cancellation will be offered to commemorate the event. General parking will be available in the surrounding businesses, the middle school and Boy & Girls Club parking lots.
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