Salem Post Office set for re-dedication Thursday

Will be designated in honor of Howard Arthur Tibbs, SHS alum and Tuskegee Airman

SALEM -- The Salem Post Office will be re-dedicated in memory of a Salem airman Thursday.

The ceremony, to be held at 1 p.m., will honor Salem High School Class of 1937 alum Howard Arthur Tibbs and see the building officially re-designated the "Howard Arthur Tibbs Post Office." Tibbs served his country during World War II as a Tuskegee Airman and was posthumously awarded the U.S. Congressional Gold Medal (Bronze replica) in 2007.

In addition to his service as an airman, Howard was also an accomplished musician, playing the tenor saxophone and performing with the military Army Air Force bands and USO shows at segregated bases and cities around the country. During his musical career Howard joined such iconic musicians as Duke Ellington on stage.

The re-dedication of the post office comes following the signing into law by President Joe Biden of a bill championed by U.S. Rep. Bill Johnson.

The ceremony will feature remarks from Johnson, himself a retired Unite States Air Force lieutenant colonel, as well as

U.S. Sens. Sherrod Brown and J.D. Vance; United States Post Office District Manager Susan Taylor; Ohio Department of Transportation Director Jack Marchbanks; Mayor Cyndi Baronzzi Dickey; and several members of the Tibbs family, including Howard's son Philip Tibbs, who has been championing the renaming of the post office in Howard's honor, and his cousin, retired United Sates Air Force Col. Robert Catlin.

The ceremony is also to feature music by the Air Force Band of Flight.

The city previously honored Howard Arthur Tibbs in 2022 with a proclamation declaring May 30, as Charles Howard-Howard Arthur Tibbs Day, and the designation of West Second Street from Ellsworth to Jennings as Howard A. Tibbs Way, with signs reflecting the designation installed in 2021.