VILLAGE OF FAYETTEVILLE – Fayetteville’s post office hosted a dedication ceremony Oct. 5 to rename its building after a United States Marine who lived much of his life in the village.
The honoree was World War II veteran Cpl. George H. Bacel, a Fayetteville High School graduate who passed away in 2010 at the age of 89.
Bacel enlisted with the armed forces branch the day after the attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941. He went on to serve in the Pacific Theater and fight in the battles of Guadalcanal and New Guinea.
After his honorable discharge with the Good Conduct Medal in 1945, Bacel ran his business Fayetteville Hairstylists for 30 years and raised four children with his wife of 63 years, Lorraine.
“Our father wore many hats in his lifetime, but the one of U.S. Marine was by far his fondest second only to being a wonderful father and husband,” said his daughter Lori Grems.
On top of his membership in the Fayetteville Lions Club and his creation of a memorial for veterans in Fayetteville Cemetery, Bacel helped to establish the American Legion post in Manlius, and he was on the original charter in 1951 to start Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Post 7872, for which he was a commander.
He also attended services at Immaculate Conception Church every Sunday, and during Lent he would try to make it to mass daily.
“Dad was quite the role model,” his son, Peter, said during the Wednesday morning ceremony.
Later in life, George Bacel worked at the Fayetteville post office as a letter carrier and clerk. According to his daughter Lori, he always had treats for neighborhood dogs, and he loved answering questions from schoolchildren and Scouts who toured the postal building.
“When delivering the mail, he always made sure he had one eye out looking for anyone in need of help,” she added.
Following the nomination of Bacel’s name by Mayor Mark Olson and Trustee Dan Kinsella, Congressman John Katko introduced the legislation to rededicate the post office, but it took another couple of years through delays caused by COVID for the bill to be approved by both the House of Representatives and the Senate and later signed into law by the president of the United States.
“The more I learned about George, the more I was honored that he was the person that our post office will be named after forever,” Olson said.
Together with honored guests and United States Postal Service district manager Marcellina Del Pizzo, Katko unveiled a commemorative plaque for the occasion that will be displayed inside the building at 599 E. Genesee St.
“George was a man who loved his family and loved his country and his community,” said Katko.
During the ceremony Manlius VFW Post 7872 provided the color guard, Bacel’s daughter Carol led the pledge of allegiance, and friend of the family Jeanette Sweet sang “The Star-Spangled Banner.”