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SAN MATEO (CBS 5 / AP / BCN) ― A U.S. Post Office was renamed Monday to honor the congressman assassinated 30 years ago by followers of Rev. Jim Jones' San Francisco-based Peoples Temple.

U.S. Rep. Leo Ryan was gunned down Nov. 18, 1978, on an airstrip in Guyana. Four others also died in the shooting.

The San Mateo congressman was on a fact-finding trip, investigating reports that members were not being allowed to leave Jonestown, the group's South American compound. More than 900 of Jones' followers died there later that day, most from cyanide poisoning.
 
The Peoples Temple moved to the Jonestown compound in Guyana in the mid-70s to create what Jones called a paradise.

Upon arrival in South America, Ryan met with U.S. Embassy officials, Guyanese government officials and Peoples Temple attorneys before receiving permission from Jones to visit Jonestown in person, according to a Federal Bureau of Investigation report.

Ryan met with and interviewed Jones as part of the Congressional inquiry into the Peoples Temple. The congressman was attacked by a knife-wielding Peoples Temple member as he tried to leave, but the attacker was stopped.

Ryan then left Jonestown with his entourage and a group of Peoples Temple members who had asked to defect from the group and return to the U.S.

Ryan and the others had gathered to board airplanes when Peoples Temple members arrived on the airstrip and opened fire. Ryan was killed along with four others.

Later that day, Jones then ordered his followers to drink cyanide-laced punch. More than 900 people died in the mass suicide-murders, with less than 40 survivors.

On the eve of the 30th anniversary of the mass killings, the post office facility at 210 Ellsworth Ave. in downtown San Mateo was was christened in Ryan's name during a ceremony.

The ceremony was attended by U.S. Rep. Jackie Speier, D-San Mateo/San Francisco, who was working as Ryan's aide when he was killed. Speier was shot five times in the attack and left for dead but managed to survive her wounds.

The post office building once housed Ryan's congressional district office, Speier spokesman Mike Larsen said.

"It was much more of an event commemorating the things we don't often hear about Leo Ryan," Larsen said. "He was in public office for nearly 20 years before (the shooting) happened."

Speier took office in the 12th Congressional District after a special election was held in April to determine who would fill the seat left vacant by the passing of U.S. Rep. Tom Lantos, who died Feb. 11 due to complications from esophageal cancer. She was elected to a full congressional term Nov. 4.

Speier made an effort to rename the historic post office in honor of Ryan, her mentor, and received support from California's other congressional members.

"When she got to congress she thought this was a fitting tribute," Larsen said.

More than 150 people attended Monday's ceremony, during which two of Ryan's daughters spoke.

"Today we pay tribute to this remarkable man, inspirational mentor, loving father and hard-working congressman," Speier told the gathering.

Speier's speech acknowledged Ryan's untimely death, but mainly focused on Ryan's accomplishments as a politician.

"He fought for the rights of felons when being 'tough on crime' is what wins elections," Speier said. "He went to Watts to teach inner-city students at a time when his district had very few African-American constituents. ... And, ultimately, he sacrificed that life while rescuing people so powerless and dispossessed that they left America to live in the jungles of South America."

The congresswoman also recalled advice she received from her mentor.

"In April, when I was sworn into Congress to fill the seat that he once held, I recalled three things that Leo Ryan taught me: Question the status quo. Listen to the people you represent. And always stand up for what you believe in --- even if you have to stand alone," she said.

Speier is prominently featured in two current documentaries about the Jonestown Massacre. She has also conducted various interviews and written an article to mark the three decades since she lay wounded on an airstrip in South America.

Also in remembrance, an annual event paying tribute to the hundreds of children who died in the mass murder-suicide at the Jonestown compound was to be held at 11 a.m. Tuesday at Evergreen Cemetery, 6450 Camden Street in Oakland. 

Among the scheduled speakers for the event were Charles Krause, who was shot on the airstrip 30 years ago, and Yulanda Williams, a Jonestown survivor, organizers said.

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