A Hookstown post office was renamed after Air Force Staff Sergeant Dylan J. Elchin Monday.
Elchin, a Hookstown native, was killed in a roadside bombing in Afghanistan in 2018, two weeks after he was deployed. He was awarded the Bronze Star for meritorious service in a combat zone, the Purple Heart for wounds suffered and the Army Commendation Medal with Valor and the Air Force Commendation Medal.
As chaos continues in Afghanistan, dozens gathered outside the Hookstown post office in the rain to honor Elchin's sacrifice nearly three years ago.
Ron Bogolea, Elchin's grandfather, says he is now dedicating his life to celebrating his grandson.
"He was just a very special person," he said. "Anybody that would be willing to lay their life down, because he knew every mission he went on, every one he went on, he may not come back. He knew that."
Congressman Conor Lamb (D-PA) was one of the main supporters of the bill needed to rename the post office.
At Monday's ceremony, he said getting the bill to President Trump's desk was a bipartisan effort.
"We would not be the country we want to be or the country that we say we are without families like yours who are willing to raise children like Dylan," Lamb said to Elchin's family during Monday's ceremony.
President Trump signed legislation on December 3, 2020 to designate the Hookstown, PA Post Office building as the "Staff Sergeant Dylan Elchin Post Office."
A plaque will hang in the post office commemorating the new name.