Raleigh post office officially renamed after hometown hero Millie Dunn Veasey

RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) -- In her final days, Millie Dunn Veasey often wondered if anyone would remember her when she was gone.

She didn't live to see the day that the post office along Brentwood Road in Raleigh would be renamed in her honor. Veasey's legacy lives on as her family members continue to share stories of her life.

"How much time do you have? Her name was Auntie Dear to me. The older ones called her Sister," said Veasey's nephew Eugene Dunn Jr, " How she got that name? I don't know."

Dunn said there are too many stories to tell about his aunt, so he shared one of the last.

"She could talk. She could talk for days and days. At her 100th birthday party, I thought she was going to talk until she was 101 years old," he said.

Veasey died in 2018 at 100 years old. The Raleigh native was part of the "Six Triple Eight," a Black female unit that served in the U.S. Army during World War II, who adopted the phrase, "no mail, low morale". They cleared a years-long backlog and processed thousands of pieces of mail by hand each day.

Dunn said his aunt never spoke about being in the U.S. Army, but he always knew she was special.

"We didn't know all this until later on, but I knew she had done something," he said.

On Friday afternoon, loved ones, friends, and community members gathered inside Saint Ambrose Episcopal Church for a special honor, renaming the Brentwood Road post office to the Mille Dunn Veasey Post Office.

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Congresswoman Deborah Ross spearheaded the effort as she said the Pentagon removed contributions of minorities in the armed forces from its websites.

"The fact that we could do all this at this particular time not only honors her legacy, but preserves it for generations to come," said Ross.

At 78 years old, Eugenia Pleasant is Millie Dunn Veasey's oldest niece. She imagined her aunt's response from heaven to the recognition to be ecstatic.

"Lord Jesus! Oh my God! She's a happy somebody and she's glad that we all have on her sorority colors," Pleasant said.

"It means a lot, especially coming from a HBCU graduate. I went to North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University. She went to St. Augustine's University and also North Carolina Central University," said Bryce Kearner, one of Veasey's youngest great-nephews.

Veasey was a woman many called a true hometown hero. Her name will forever be etched in stone.

Raleigh Mayor Janet Cowell also issued a proclamation for May 9 to be Millie Dunn Veasey Day.