The U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill Tuesday renaming a Cobb County post office after Marine Lance Corporal Squire “Skip” Wells, a Marietta native who was killed in the 2015 attack on a Chattanooga reserve facility.
According to the Marietta Daily Journal, the resolution was introduced in July by Rep. Tom Price, R-Roswell, and was cosponsored by all 13 Georgia members of the House. The legislation now goes to the Senate to be voted on.
Wells was a 2012 graduate of Sprayberry High School and briefly attended Georgia Southern University before enlisting in the Marine Corps in 2014. The 21-year-old Wells was killed, along with three other Marines, on July 16, 2015, when the reserve facility he was stationed at was attacked by a gunman.
The shooter, Mohammud Abdulazeez, was inspired to commit the act by terrorist propaganda, according to the FBI.
The AJC reports that the bill, House Resolution 5612, will change the name of the U.S. Post Office at 2886 Sandy Plains Road in Marietta to “Lance Corporal Squire ‘Skip’ Wells Post Office Building.”
Before the vote on the resolution, Price took to the House floor to praise Wells’ service and his sacrifice.
“Skip Wells was a proud Marine and a true hero,” Price said. “He made the ultimate sacrifice and selflessly gave his life to protect his fellow service members and to protect our nation,” he said.
Wells’ death produced an outpouring of local gratification and support. The police-escorted funeral procession, which took Wells’ body from Woodstock to the Georgia National Cemetery in Canton, was flocked with local residents who wished to pay their respects to the former Marine.
