California Post Office Renamed After Fallen Soldier

Pfc. Jang Ho Kim. Courtesy of Rep. Young Kim's office

President Joe Biden signed legislation on Dec. 27 renaming a post office in Placentia, California, after a Korean immigrant who lived in Orange County, California, and died while serving with the Army in Iraq.

The new law designates the branch located at 1400 N. Kraemer Boulevard as the PFC Jang Ho Kim Post Office Building.

“U.S. Army PFC Jang Ho Kim gave everything to preserve our nation’s values we hold dear,” Rep. Young Kim (R-Calif.), who spearheaded the law, said in a statement. “While we cannot fully repay our fallen heroes, I am glad we can preserve his story in Placentia for years to come through the PFC Jang Ho Kim Post Office Building.”

The fallen soldier’s family thanked Kim for her efforts to honor his memory.

“Jang Ho was a dedicated Army servicemember, promising young man, and proud American. We love and miss him dearly and are very grateful to the Congresswoman for working hard to honor his memory,” the Kim family said in a statement.

Kim was born in Seoul, South Korea, and immigrated to the United States with his family in 1990. They first lived in New York and eventually moved to Orange County. He graduated from Valencia High School in Placentia and enlisted in the U.S. Army in June 2005 and was deployed to Baghdad, Iraq, where he and a fellow soldier were killed by a roadside bomb in November 2006. He’s buried at the Riverside National Cemetery.

The other soldier killed alongside Kim was Pfc. Daniel J. Allman II.

Kim received multiple awards for his service and sacrifice, including the Bronze Star Medal, Purple Heart, National Defense Service Medal, and Iraq Campaign Medal, among others.