The Postal Service is honored to rename the Vienna Post Office at 200 Lawyers Road, for two local soldiers killed in Iraq, Army Captain Christopher Petty and Maj. William F. Hecker, III. Congress passed P.L. 109-408 to rename the Vienna Post Office to honor the two men. Petty, 33 and Hecker, 37, were killed January 5, 2006, when a roadside bomb detonated near the Humvee they were driving in a convoy from Baghdad to Najaf to see the progress made on rehabilitating schools there.

Christopher Petty, a graduate of James Madison High School in Vienna, was born into a military family. His awards include the Purple Heart, Bronze Star Medal (two Oak Leaf Clusters), Global War On Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Korea Defense Service Medal, Parachutist Badge and the Air Assault Badge. He is survived by his wife, Deborah and two sons, Oliver, 4 and Owen, 1.

William Hecker, a graduate of McLean High School, taught English at West Point and also comes from a military family. His military honors include the Bronze Star Medal, the Purple Heart Medal and the Combat Action Badge. He is survived by his wife Richelle, and their four children, Alexandria, 11, Victoria, 8, Cordelia, 6, and William, 3.

A short ceremony with a plaque unveiling will be followed by refreshments.