Jim Osborne - Photo by NALC ( NALC Press Release) A Florida letter carrier who took his airboat and headed to Louisiana a year ago to help rescue Hurricane Katrina victims, was named today as National Hero of the Year by the 300,000-member National Association of Letter Carriers.

NALC President William H. Young will present the National Hero of the Year award to Jim Osborne of Port St. Lucie, Fla., and five other awards for heroism and humanitarian efforts at a special ceremony Sept. 7 at the Washington Court Hotel in Washington, D.C.

Osborne, 48, a member of NALC Branch 1690 in West Palm Beach, Fla., who put aside delivering mail on Florida’s East Coast to help rescue victims of Hurricane Katrina in Louisiana with his airboat, was selected by a panel of independent judges.

Osborne knew that the airboat in his driveway would be invaluable in Louisiana and did not hesitate to put together a 10-boat convoy of members of the South Florida Airboat Association to make the trip of mercy. His colleagues back home first learned of his heroic activity when Osborne’s rescue efforts were mentioned on National Public Radio. Osborne said he rescued about 20 people and his Florida group altogether saved more than 175 people from flood waters.

The postal union’s annual National Humanitarian of the Year award will be presented to Lane Anderson of Santa Barbara, California, a member of NALC Branch 290 in Santa Barbara, who developed a memorial tribute on a Pacific beach to the thousands of men and women who have been killed in Iraq. His display — consisting of small white crosses with flags to depict each member of the Armed Services killed in the war, has been dubbed “Arlington West.” The memorial — which is reconstructed every Sunday and then removed at sunset — is an ongoing project of the national Veterans for Peace organization.

Anderson, who is a retired letter carrier, has about 20 volunteers for the weekly ritual. It includes placing the crosses –now over 2,000 — three feet apart, each with a marker indicating the date and event of the fatal incident in Iraq.

In announcing the awards, Young said the winners this year are a proud addition to the long list of letter carriers who have performed heroic and humanitarian acts throughout the union’s history.

“Letter carriers have a long tradition of coming to the aid of those in need along their postal routes and elsewhere, often at risk of personal danger,” Young said. “We are extremely proud of these men and women.”

A special Carrier Alert Rescue Award will be presented to Samuel Dickson of Brownsville, Ind., a member of NALC Br. 271 in Richmond, Ind., for coming to the rescue of an elderly man who fell off a ladder and was lying partially hidden in bushes outside his home. After calling 911 and keeping him warm, Dickson remained at his side until paramedics arrived.

Three regional heroes will also be honored at the Sept. 7 event:

– Terry Hampton of Macon, Ga., a member of NALC Macon Br. 270, was named Eastern Region Hero. After hearing a scream, he helped police apprehend a man who had assaulted a woman with a knife in a carjacking attempt. Hampton was stunned to later learn that the woman who was attacked was his wife.

– Luis Espinosa of Dayton, Texas, a member of NALC Houston Br. 283, was named as Western Region Hero for crawling through a burning apartment in a housing development on his route in Dayton and then dragging a burned man to safety.

– Leonard Morris of New Orleans, La., a member of NALC New Orleans Br. 124, was named Central Region Hero for pulling his boat through rising waters to rescue eight people trapped in a house as Hurricane Katrina swept through his city. A 75-year-old retired carrier, Morris jumped into the murky water after his vessel ran out of gas and used the anchor line — tossing the anchor forward, then pulling the boat up, and then tossing the anchor again — to get the victims to safety.

Judges selecting the winners were Jordan (Bud) Biscardo, AFL-CIO Community Services liaison at United Way of America; Shelby Hallmark, director, U.S. Labor Department’s Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs; and Phil Guercio, chief of Montgomery County (MD) Fire and Rescue Services. 

Related Links:

National Assocation of Letter Carriers News Bulletin

Letter carrier ditches route for rescuer’s role