William “Bill” L. Reynolds was a decorated Vietnam War veteran and hero who was best known for his work advocating for fellow veterans in the Santa Clarita Valley. He died in 2021, and on Tuesday morning, he was honored through the renaming of the Santa Clarita Post Office on Creekside Road.
Rep. Mike Garcia, R-Santa Clarita, introduced the bill to rename the post office on Jan. 11, 2023.
Garcia said the process to get the bill approved required support from all 52 members of Congress from California, and to get them all represented bipartisan recognition of an American hero. On May 7, President Joe Biden signed the bill into law. “I had to have some long conversations to make sure that folks understood who he was and why we were doing this and why this was important,” said Garcia.
The ceremony for the renaming was attended by Al Santos, U.S. Postal Service district manager, representatives from Assemblywoman Pilar Schiavo’s office, Sen.
Scott Wilk’s office, Supervisor Kathryn Barger’s office, and Santa Clarita Councilman Jason Gibbs. Reynolds’ widow, Meg, with her two children, Mike and Lisa, and numerous veteran friends sat among the crowd listening to Garcia reflect on who Reynolds was. Santos said he was glad that the building would be named after a leader who shared a passion for helping others and had a heart of service like the other men and women who work in postal service.
“I’m personally pleased to see the building behind me be named after a community leader who embodied these same traits,” said Santos. “It’s a tradition that honors the values of commitment, discipline and community. A tradition that Bill Reynolds embodied throughout his life, from his service in Vietnam to his professional life and his retirement years, he spent them advocating for his fellow veterans, and it is evident that the impact he made here in the city of Santa Clarita.
” Reynolds served in the Charlie Company of the 4th/47th, 9th Infantry Division, becoming one of the famous “Boys of ’67” as chronicled in the 2012 book by Dr. Andrew Wiest and the basis of a National Geographic documentary, “Brothers in War,” which premiered in 2014. Garcia said Reynolds was a special guy.
Reynolds was a part of many organizations including the Elks Lodge, the Veterans Collaborative and the Santa Clarita Valley Veterans Memorial organization. He also served as director of veterans affairs for The Signal, writing weekly feature stories on local veterans. “He went out of his way to talk to veterans.
He went out of his way to help veterans. He would interview veterans,” said Garcia. He would talk to veterans about their experiences and seek out ways he could help them.
He wrote over 100 biographies of veterans, according to Garcia. Several of Reynolds’ closest friends who were in the “Boys of ‘67” were thanked by Garcia for attending. He said to live through what they experienced in Vietnam and come back as friends was true loyalty, even more so to commemorate their friend after his death.
“This isn’t just paying homage, and it’s not just a gesture to someone who was a local hero. It’s truly a recognition of a man who gave his entire life and service to his country and I wish we could do more for him by naming every building after him,” said Garcia. Garcia and Meg Reynolds unveiled the plaque in front of the post office.
Meg Reynolds said she was thankful for everyone involved in making the day happen. “It reflects how much love and respect Bill had in this community. He was a wonderful husband, father, brother, friend, volunteer who served the veterans community and all-around good guy,” said Meg Reynolds.
“For me, today is a little bittersweet in that Bill is not here in person to accept this incredible honor. However, I take comfort in knowing he’s looking down from heaven saying, ‘Wow.’ I know he’s up there humbly thankful for this beautiful honor.
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