Mulberry post office to be renamed for Ft. Hood hero

A little over a year after he may have saved lives during a massacre at the Ft. Hood base in Texas, the post office in Mulberry will be named for Army soldier Daniel Ferguson, who was one of three soldiers who died in the attack.

"Anytime you get something named after you, that's a big deal," said American Legion Post 72 commander Brenda Tidwell. "[His loss] was very traumatic."

On April 2nd, 2014, Ferguson threw his body in front of a door that Ft. Hood shooter Ivan Lopez was trying to get through as he opened fire.

Three were killed, sixteen injured.

Wednesday, President Obama signed the renaming bill.

Lakeland Rep. Dennis Ross (R-Lakeland) spoke to Congress in June about Ferguson's heroism.

"Without his heroic actions, those present that day have said that there would have been many more casualties and fatalities," said Rep. Ross.

For the American Legion, the name going up on the Post Office is going to have added meaning.

In the town of a few thousand, the Post Office is visible from the Legion parking lot.

"This man was an American hero," said Tidwell. "There are many, many heroes in this country that don't get any recognition."

At the Legion, which is on Church Avenue, they already had a plaque for Ferguson that says, "Daniel is the absolute definition of a hero, and we are all proud of him and his last acts."

Now all of Mulberry, and indeed the president and congress, have made that clear.

"We will miss him more than we can ever express," said Tidwell.

A date for the formal renaming ceremony has not been set.