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Senate Committee advances bill to rename Tupelo Post Office after Mississippi veteran
By Cianna Reeves
WASHINGTON (WJTV)- On Wednesday, U.S. lawmakers approved of legislation to rename the U.S. post office at 500 West Main Street in Tupelo after Mississippi native and Vietnam War veteran Colonel Carlyle “Smitty” Harris.
U.S. Senators Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) and Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.) sent a letter last week to the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs encouraging Chairman Gary Peters (D-Mich.) and Ranking Member Rob Portman(R-Ohio) to pass the proposal.
“It is impossible for this gesture to render adequate thanks to Colonel Harris for the years of suffering he endured on behalf of our nation,” the senators wrote. “However, this post office designation would duly recognize him as an American hero worthy of emulation. We urge swift passage of this bill.”
Renaming the post office would honor Colonel Harris’s military service and sacrifice on behalf of Mississippi and his country.
Committee passage clears the bill for consideration by the full Senate. U.S. Representative Trent Kelly (R-Miss.) introduced the legislation, which passed the House of Representatives in February.