OSHKOSH — Bipartisan bills introduced in the Senate by U.S. Sens. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) and Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) to rename the post offices in Port Washington and Tomahawk passed the House of Representatives today and are now on their way to President Trump to be signed into law.

The bill for the Port Washington Post Office will officially change the name of the post office at 104 E. Main St. in Port Washington, to the “Joseph G. Demler Post Office.” Joe Demler served in the 137^th infantry during the Battle of the Bulge where he was captured by German troops and taken as a prisoner of war. Doctors told him he was days away from death when he was liberated from a Nazi camp in April 1945 weighing less than 70 pounds. He became known as the “human skeleton” after Life magazine published his photo. Upon his discharge from the Army in November 1945, Joe began working for the U.S. Postal Service in Milwaukee before transferring to the Port Washington Post Office where he worked for 37 years. Joe coined the motto “every day is a bonus” which became the motto of the Stars and Stripes Honor Flight, an organization he helped organize. Throughout his life, Joe participated in countless Honor Flights and proudly shared his story of service. He passed away in February 2020.

The bill for the Tomahawk Post Office will officially change the name of the post office at 311 W. Wisconsin Ave. in Tomahawk, to the “Einar ‘Sarge’ H. Ingman, Jr. Post Office Building.” Sergeant Ingman was a Korean War veteran whose single-handed destruction of two machine gun nests near Maltari in 1951 allowed his squad to secure its objective. In 1951, President Truman awarded Ingman the Medal of Honor for his courageous actions. Mr. Ingman was also recognized with two Purple Hearts, three Bronze Stars and various other recognitions. He passed away in September 2015.

Senator Johnson said, “Einar ‘Sarge’ Ingman is a true American hero who was awarded our nation’s highest military decoration — the Medal of Honor.  Joe Demler served his country courageously and barely survived the horrors of a Nazi prisoner of war camp. It’s a fitting honor to both men that the post offices in their hometowns will soon be renamed in their honor so that their service will never be forgotten by future generations.”

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