Joe Dimock stood contemplatively, looking at the just unveiled sign created in memory of his son — Army Spec. Joseph “Joey” W. Dimock, II — which now lets everyone entering the Grayslake Post Office know of the local soldier who was killed in Afghanistan in 2010.
“I felt grief and honor at the same time,” Dimock said. “Grief for the loss of Joey, but pleased by the way he was being honored.”
The Grayslake Post Office was renamed in Dimock’s memory Monday — the 10th anniversary of his death at age 21 — after President Joseph Biden signed an act of Congress authorizing the young soldier’s memorialization in December.
“Don’t ever forget him,” Ellen Dimock, Joey Dimock’s mother, said before the ceremony. “Every day is Memorial Day for me. We have a golf outing every year. We’ve given scholarships.”
Eric Henry, the U.S. Postal Service area vice president, emphasized how Dimock’s name and deeds will be remembered anytime someone walks into the Grayslake Post Office.
“Liberty must always be defended, and never taken for granted,” Henry said. “Now everyone who mails a letter or package, or gets their passport at this post office will know it is the Army Specialist Joseph “Joey” W. Dimock, II, post office.
After U.S. Rep. Brad Schneider, D-Highland Park, met Ellen Dimock two years ago at the Grayslake Memorial Day ceremony, he said he also wanted to help keep Dimock’s memory alive. Only the U.S. Congress can name federal facilities.
Schneider said he introduced legislation to rename the post office in Dimock’s memory in May of last year. It unanimously passed the U.S. House of Representatives and then the U.S. Senate, with no dissenting votes.
“I reached across the aisle to bring together every Illinois representative, Republicans and Democrats,” Schneider said. “I then worked with senators (Richard) Durbin and (Tammy) Duckworth to get the legislation included in a larger package.”
Though the first time the Dimocks learned their son wanted to enlist in the Army after graduating from Warren Township High School came as a surprise, his patriotism was evident before that in his Eagle Scout project. He was inducted in August 2007.
“The first time I learned about it is when he brought an Army recruiter to the house,” Ellen Dimock said. “He was 17. He wanted to be an Army ranger. I was scared. We were sending him off. I learned to live the Army life.”
Ellen Dimock said her husband may have had an inkling their son planned to join the Army. Joe Dimock said he learned the same time his wife did when Joey Dimock arrived with the recruiter.
During his remarks, Schneider talked about Dimock’s Eagle Scout project, which not only demonstrated a willingness to do something to honor his country but a sense of patriotism as well.
“Joey collected nearly 200 worn American flags so they could be honorably retired in a special ceremony,” Schneider said.
Proud of their son’s Eagle Scout project, the Dimocks said it was part of his sense of community service since he was a Cub Scout. He was also a member of his youth group at the Wildwood Presbyterian Church, where he went on youth missions.
“They have to be cut and buried in a certain way,” Ellen Dimock said of the flag retirement project.
Joe Dimock said his son involved the rest of the scout troop in the project. They collected them from a variety of places. The largest flag once flew over Naval Station Great Lakes.
During his less than three years as an Army Ranger, Dimock earned a Bronze Star and the Army Commendation Medal. Schneider said U.S. Army Lt. Col. Mike Foster, Dimock’s commanding officer, praised the young soldier’s service.
“Ranger Dimock represented everything right with America,” Schneider said, quoting Foster. “He was an incredibly talented young man, who volunteered to serve his nation in a time of war and ultimately gave his life in support of her cause.”
