By Jalen Maki
Tomahawk Leader Editor
TOMAHAWK – Family of Einar ‘Sarge’ H. Ingman Jr., Senator Ron Johnson, Representative Tom Tiffany, State Senator Mary Felzkowski, State Representative Calvin Callahan, and members of the community were on hand for a ceremony celebrating the renaming the Tomahawk Post Office after the local Medal of Honor recipient on Saturday, Aug. 28.
Ingman earned the Medal of Honor for his actions in Korea while in the Army. In Feb. 1951, he took command of two combined squads when their leaders were wounded and captured a fortified ridge-top position near the town of Malta-ri, suffering serious wounds in the assault.
On July 5, 1951, Ingman was awarded the Medal of Honor by President Harry Truman.
After being discharged from the Army, Ingman returned to the Tomahawk area, residing in Irma. He passed away on Sept. 9, 2015, at the age of 85.
The process to rename the building after Ingman dates back to last FEbruary, when Johnson and Sen. Tammy Baldwin introduced a bill to do so. The legislation passed the Senate in Nov. 2020, and the House of Representatives approved the bill the following month.
On Dec. 30, 2020 former President Donald J. Trump signed the bill into law.
Johnson called Ingman “a true American hero.”
“For the extraordinary courage he displayed during his service in the Korean War, he was awarded the Medal of Honor, our nation’s highest military honor,” Johnson stated. “Renaming the post office in his hometown is a fitting tribute to a man whose service and story will forever inspire future generations.”
“It is one of my most greatest duties as a lawmaker to support and sponsor legislation that creates lasting legacies for great servicemen, like Einar H. Ingman, Jr.,” Tiffany said. “During his service in the Korean War, Ingman showed remarkable strength and courage and went above and beyond the call of duty.”