Anaheim post office to be named after local dentist, WWII hero Dr. William Kott

There are numerous local landmarks, some of them official, some personal, that remind Anaheim resident Paul Kott of his father, Dr. William Kott — a notable dentist, surgeon and decorated World War II hero.

There’s the building on the corner of Harbor Boulevard and Water Street, the site of his father’s first dental office, where he’d wait as a boy for the workday to end before heading down the street to the family apartment.

Then there’s the I-5 Freeway overpass at Broadway, where his dad would take him and brother Richard to see the dazzling nighttime fireworks displays above Disneyland.

Or the Museo Museum and Cultural Center, former site of Orange County’s last remaining Carnegie Library, which his father helped preserve as an Anaheim city councilman in the late 1970s.

“There are some areas of Anaheim that have my father’s fingerprints on them. Things he did in his life — Anaheim things.” the 70-year-old Realtor recalled.

And now there will be one more. Legislation to redesignate an Anaheim post office — located at 333 W. Broadway — as the Dr. William I. ‘Bill’ Kott Post Office Building was signed into law Tuesday by President Joe Biden.

Introduced in February by U.S. Rep Lou Correa (D-Santa Ana), the effort, HR 7192, honors the longtime Anaheim dentist and medical doctor who fought under Gen. George S. Patton in the Battle of the Bulge and was among the military personnel who liberated Jewish prisoners at the Buchenwald concentration camp in 1945.

“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 Tuesday.

“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. And to be able to preserve his memory through this work today is an honor.”

William Kott, in an undated photo, served in Gen. George S. Patton’s Third Army in World War II but did not receive commendations for acts of valor until much later in life.

(Courtesy of Joel Kott)

Although William Kott died peacefully in his home on Jan. 8, 2020, family members say this week’s legislative act seems appropriate for a man whose long and storied life exemplified the American dream.

Born in Philadelphia on April 17, 1922, the only child of Prussian immigrant parents, he worked with his father in a neighborhood store directly beneath their inner-city apartment during the Great Depression, according to an online obituary shared by Correa’s office.

After the attack of Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941, he enlisted in the U.S. Army and was soon after deployed to Europe. His valiant actions earned two Bronze Battle Stars, an EAM Campaign Medal, the Combat Infantry Medal, World War II Victory Medal and the French Legion of Honor Medal, among others, but only several decades after his service.

Attending school on the GI Bill, he earned an associate’s degree at Compton College, then later earned his bachelor’s degree and DDS at University of Southern California, where he stayed on as an associate faculty member.

After running a successful dental practice for several years, he decided to go back to school to become a maxilla-facial surgeon, earning his medical degree from UC Irvine at age 60. Urged on by those who knew him to consider local politics, he was elected to the Anaheim City Council.

Dr. William and Eleanor Kott, from left, with 11-year-old son Paul pose with Ronald Reagan at the kickoff to Reagan’s gubernatorial campaign at the Kott’s Anaheim home in 1965.

(Courtesy of Joel Kott)

Active in service clubs and Southern California political circles, William and wife Eleanor entertained then-gubernatorial candidate Ronald Reagan, who decided to kick off his campaign in their home in Anaheim’s Westmont neighborhood, according to grandson Joel Kott.

“He wanted to have a fundraiser down here, and it was told to him, ‘You’ve got to hold it at Dr. Kott’s house, his wife throws a good party,’” the 40-year-old Orange resident recalled the family tale.

Paul Kott recalled his father as a strict parent who never discussed his military service or what he experienced in battle but instilled in his sons a pragmatic approach toward living.

Anaheim resident Dr. William Kott, center, with actor Tom Hanks and director Steven Spielberg at the Shoah Foundation’s Ambassadors for Humanity gala in Beverly Hills in 2018.

(Courtesy of Joel Kott)

“He wanted us to grow up knowing that life is difficult and has its challenges and you need to be prepared for your future and educate yourself,” he said.

It wasn’t until much later in life that William Kott’s exploits during World War II were discovered by the wider community and commendations bestowed upon him.

Upon learning of his connection to Buchenwald, director Steven Spielberg invited the Anaheim retired doctor to participate in a 2018 gala of the Shoah Foundation, which aims to record the living histories of Holocaust survivors and those who helped liberate them.

Those who knew and loved William Kott will attest he was not a fan of honorifics. Still, somehow, the naming of a post office in the town where his individual American dream played out seems fitting.

“We think it’s a great tribute to a great individual,” Paul Kott said Wednesday. “He was really a patriot. The concept of America is what opened up doors for him and his family, past, present and future. We’re just the lucky recipients of having the dad who led the way and was such a fundamental cornerstone for our lives.”