Owasso Post Office Named In Honor Of Tech Sgt Marshal Roberts

The U.S. Post Office in Owasso is now officially named after an Oklahoma Air Guardsman who was killed in Iraq in 2020.

It is now called the Technical Sergeant Marshal Roberts Post Office Building.

Part of Highway 20 between Owasso and Claremore is named after Roberts, and now the community of Owasso has another way to honor his legacy.

Roberts was the first Oklahoma Air National Guardsman killed in action while deployed overseas since 9/11, and the 138th Fighter Wing said his actions during a rocket attack, saved another airman's life.

"The idea that his name will be out there forever, for even generations beyond us, is pretty remarkable to me,” MSgt Erica Boyer, a family friend, said.

At the dedication ceremony on Thursday, people could get an envelope with a special postal cancellation mark with Roberts’ name on it. That cancellation mark, signaling a stamp has been used, can now be requested by anyone sending mail through the Owasso post office.

Roberts’ wife, Kristie, spoke to a packed crowd at Tulsa Tech.

"Marshal's humility and inclination to blush were a couple of many trademarks of his personality. So as his wife you can understand how difficult it is for me to stand here today and speak on his behalf and adequately express the gratitude I know he feels in his heart. And to say that even in heaven, I know he's blushing,” she said.

U.S. Representative Kevin Hern authored the bill that went through Congress, to rename the post office.

"It is my hope that by this simple act, the name Marshal Roberts lives on as a reminder to all who see it that not only is freedom not free, but that our freedom is fragile,” Hern said.

"I promise to never let your memory fade,” Kristie said to the crowd. “Your presence is always with us. You are incredibly missed. You are incredibly loved. And you will never be forgotten."

There are 600 post offices across Oklahoma; only 13 are named after someone.