Karen Meredith told me about this event via a facebook event that had a lot of people invited to it. I remember the many times I'd been to vigils and meetings with her. I had to go. When I got there there were lots and lots of people I didn't know and a few old friends. It was a nice setting for a ceremony. The weather was perfect.

  

There was a polite murmur of conversations all around. I talked to a few friends I don't see often.

     

The Master of Ceremonies, a USPS Public Affairs type named James T. Wigdel brought our attention to the front of the room. Then the color guard from San Jose State's AFROTC detachment brought up and planted the Stars and Stripes and California's flags and Jennifer Sloan sang The National Anthem. I couldn't take pictures of that because everybody was standing in front of me and I had my hand over my heart.

     

Rosemarie Fernandez, the USPS San Francisco District Manager, wanted us all to know that she was proud of the fact that the USPS had delivered everybody's mail to Ken Ballard with all due care while he was serving overseas. She told us that her team gives the same care to every piece of mail each and every one of us entrusts to them.

Mayor Macias (Retired) said that she had never met Ken, but Karen was a spark plug in the community and he deserved this honor.

Trevor Floth had been a friend of Ken Ballards for many years. They had served together in Kosovo and Iraq. If things had gone according to plan Ken would have been alive today. Unfortunately unrest in Iraq had forced the Army to extend their tour of duty by 100 days. He was sad that Ken couldn't see this honor because an automatic gun on his tank had cut him down by accident shortly before the end of that period.







People were still trickling in when I took these pictures. By the end of the ceremony there were many more people standing at the back of the room.

     

Congresswoman Eshoo began by thanking everybody who did something to make the event happen, including the color guard. She explained that she hadn't known Karen before she had embarked on the project of getting the government to rename this Post Office branch, but during the years it had taken to make it happen Karen had earned her respect. Then she presented Karen with the official public law that changed the name of our post office.



Then it was Karen's turn to speak.

     

She talked about how she and Ken had always been a team. I remember that she shed a few tears before the speech was over.



Then they unveiled the plaque.

     

After the ceremony there was a bit of time when people hung around and chatted. One of the people I met was this Miss California State. After I got home I found a bio of Ken in the program that was on my seat.



I hope Ken Ballard remains the "only Mountain View soldier to die in combat in Iraq." It's horrible to lose people in an illegal war.