OPSTC Tower named in memory of James W. Fous
The Omaha City Council has unanimously approved the commemorative renaming of the Omaha Public Safety Training Center’s (OPSTC) fire training tower in honor of Omaha native and U.S. Army soldier James W. Fous, a posthumous recipient of the Congressional Medal of Honor for his heroism in Vietnam.
The action restores a long-standing tribute to Private Fous, whose name had been associated with Omaha’s original training tower at 12th and Abbott Drive. That facility was dedicated in his memory in 1970, before its decommissioning in 2002. When the current tower entered service in 2004, the Fous name did not carry forward, an oversight that went unaddressed for two decades.
Following a presentation by Lowell Ferguson, Jim Bosanek, and Sherry Williams, the City Council formally corrected the record. The council’s unanimous vote reaffirmed Omaha’s commitment to honoring James Fous, ensuring his sacrifice is remembered by future firefighters and police officers.
The effort to restore the naming began last year, when the Society researched Fous’s life and service for the seventh issue of the Pioneer Hook & Ladder Quarterly. The resulting article, Pathless Was the Dreary Wind, detailed his story and drew renewed attention to the lapse in commemorative recognition. That article is now preserved in the Society’s archives, available to subscribers to this website.
With the City Council’s approval, the OPSTC training tower will again carry the name of James W. Fous, ensuring that Omaha’s public safety community continues to train under the inspiration of his courage and sacrifice.
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