Ceremony marks official naming of Crystal Lake post office in honor of fallen Marine

The Crystal Lake Post Office at 301 Congress Parkway is officially named the Ryan J. Cummings Post Office.

Cummings was a Marine who died at age 22 in 2006 while on duty in Iraq. The ceremony took place June 4, 17 years and one day after Cummings was killed while riding in a vehicle that hit a roadside bomb and flipped.

The renaming was three years in the making. It was made official in January after President Joe Biden signed the bill into law. The bills were sponsored by U.S. Rep. Sean Casten, D-Downers Grove, and U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Illinois.

“It exceeded my expectations,”

—  John Cummings

More than 200 people attended the ceremony that included speakers, music from a five-piece brass band and a 21-gun salute. Crystal Lake Mayor Haig Haleblain and Casten were among the attendees. The Crystal Lake Post Office created a 12-person committee to organize the event.

“It was a very moving and it was well orchestrated,” Haleblain said. “I was honored to be there.”

The Cummings family lived in Crystal Lake at the time of his death. Cummings’ father, John, now lives in McHenry.

“It exceeded my expectations,” John Cummings said of the ceremony.

The Chicago Police Department had their bagpipe band perform songs such as “God Bless America” and “Amazing Grace.” A veterans motorcycle group called Rolling Thunder, whom John is a part of, and another Marine Corps motorcycle group came to honor Cummings at the ceremony.

John said that his son’s funeral was “unimaginable grief,” whereas the post office ceremony felt more like a celebration of his life. People spoke of Cummings’ bravery and told stories of his life.

“It certainly is heartfelt and poignant that the post office is named after him. I give his father a lot of credit for sticking with it to accomplish this,” Haleblain said.