An Anaheim post office has been named after a World War II veteran with a storied life who later became a local dentist and then a doctor.
office at 333 W. Broadway in downtown Anaheim was designated as the Dr. William I. “Bill” Kott Post Office Building after President Joe Biden recently signed legislation renaming the building.
Kott was born in 1922 and died in 2020. He was a decorated U.S. Army veteran who served in Europe during World War II. He served as a combat soldier and fought in the Battle of the Bulge as part of General George Patton’s 3rd Army, according to an obituary published by his family.
Paul Kott holds a microphone as he father, Dr. William Kott talks about his time in Europe during WWII during a Survivor meets Liberator event in Anaheim, CA, on Tuesday, Oct 9, 2018. Dr. William Kott was part of Gen. Patton’s Third Army when he helped liberate Buchenwald concentration camp. Holocaust survivor Mel Mermelstein is donating his lifetime collection of Holocaust artifact to Cornelia Connelly High School in Anaheim. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
A photo of Ronald Reagan with William, Eleanor and Paul Kott, then 11, taken the night that Reagan held his kickoff fundraiser in his bid for governor at their home in 1965. (Photo courtesy of Paul Kott)
Dr. William Kott and his daighter-in-law, Lisa Kott, examine a picture of Holocaust survivor Mel Mermelstein taken at Buchenwald concentration camp during a Survivor meets Liberator event in Anaheim, CA, on Tuesday, Oct 9, 2018. Dr. William Kott was part of Gen. Patton’s Third Army when he helped liberate Buchenwald concentration camp. Mel Mermelstein is donating his lifetime collection of Holocaust artifact to Cornelia Connelly High School in Anaheim. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Edie Mermelstein, daughter of Holocaust survivor Mel Mermelstein, left, Dr. William Kott, center, and his son, Paul Kott, listen as Anaheim Mayor Tom Tait welcomes visitors to the city’s Survivor meets Liberator event in Anaheim, CA, on Tuesday, Oct 9, 2018. Dr. William Kott was part of Gen. Patton’s Third Army when he helped liberate Buchenwald concentration camp. Holocaust survivor Mel Mermelstein is donating his lifetime collection of Holocaust artifact to Cornelia Connelly High School in Anaheim. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Dr. William Kott waves to the crowd at the dedication of Ronald Reagan Park, formerly Toyon Park, in Anaheim Hills in July 2011. It was at Kott’s home in Anaheim in 1965 that Reagan had his kickoff fundraiser in his bid for California governor. (File photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register)
Show Caption1 of 5Paul Kott holds a microphone as he father, Dr. William Kott talks about his time in Europe during WWII during a Survivor meets Liberator event in Anaheim, CA, on Tuesday, Oct 9, 2018. Dr. William Kott was part of Gen. Patton’s Third Army when he helped liberate Buchenwald concentration camp. Holocaust survivor Mel Mermelstein is donating his lifetime collection of Holocaust artifact to Cornelia Connelly High School in Anaheim. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
ExpandKott helped liberate survivors at the Nazi concentration camp of Buchenwald and later was deployed to the Pacific Theater.
Paul Kott, William’s son, said there will be a ceremony next year when the lettering goes up with his father’s name at the post office. Kott said his father never looked for any fanfare, but would have appreciated that what he did was recognized.
“He was a patriot,” Kott said. “He was ethical. He had personified integrity and high ethical conduct at all times.”
“I think he would be pleased,” Kott said.
U.S. Rep. Lou Correa introduced the legislation.
“It’s rare to find an individual whose acts of service are not just actions they take, but who they are,” Correa said in a statement. “Dr. Kott stands tall as a shining example of this ideal — offering to make the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom, and continuing to serve the community that raised him upon his return home.”
Bill Kott’s military service awards included two Bronze Battle Stars, the European–African–Middle Eastern Campaign Medal, the World War ll Victory Medal and more. He had enlisted in the army and finished with the rank of sergeant, Paul Kott said.
Kott said his father rarely spoke of his military career.
“It was so horrific,” he said, “that they just found a way to compartmentalize that.”
Bill Kott had several careers after finishing his military service.
Following the war, he married and settled in California and became a dentist. After being a general dentist in Anaheim for 17 years, his son said he went back to school at the University of Pacific in San Francisco and got a degree in maxillofacial surgery.
And then at age 60, he went to medical school and became a doctor. He practiced until he was 89.
Kott was active in Republican party politics. Ronald Reagan held his first campaign fundraiser at the Kott family home in central Anaheim in 1965 shortly after announcing he would run for governor of California. The future president, that night, had dinner and gave a speech to Anaheim business and political leaders, according to Kott’s obituary.
Kott was elected to a term on the City Council in 1976 and was the chairman of the Californian Republican Assembly of OC.
“As a family, we are pleased and appreciative,” Paul Kott said. “It’s a real honor for our family.”
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