SOMEWHERE ON THE INTERSTATE, OHIO — They stand at attention, alone and silent at their final deployment. They are not standing in a faraway jungle or desolate desert. They stand guard along Ohio highways. Their uniforms have been replaced with signs bearing their names. No explanation is needed. To read the names of servicemen and women on these signs is enough to know these veterans paid the ultimate price.
The price they paid means the only one I have to pay on an angling adventure is at the gas pump. However, passing the names is no longer a silent experience in my Tundra. I say the names aloud and wonder what lives they led before they became a name on a sign.
Lake Erie, Lake St. Clair, Alum Creek Lake, the Portage Lakes, Lake Champlain, Kentucky Lake, the Cumberland River, and Salt Fork Lake are all places where I have taken time to speak their names.
Just like when these servicemen and women stood at attention while on active duty, their memory silently salutes every motorist passing the signs bearing witness to their ultimate sacrifice.
He’s Cpl. Dustin Derga, and we meet whenever I make the drive to Alum Creek Lake. I wonder if he was a fisherman, a football fan, or a father. I check the box for each of those categories, but only because men like the Corporal saw fit to defend my opportunities.
On the way to Salt Fork Lake, Gunnery Sergeant James W. Speedy stands guard near Cambridge. I have no idea where the “Gunny” transitioned from his life to becoming a name on a sign. He may have been making a career of the service. From the location of his sign, I surmise he was a resident of Guernsey County where some of Ohio’s best deer hunting takes place. I wonder if James was a deer hunter, and if so, did he prefer a crossbow like I do.
My path to Port Clinton is under the watchful eye of Private Steven D. Smith. Being from northern Ohio, I bet he was a Cleveland Browns fan and maybe a walleye fisherman. No doubt the recent victory over the Steelers and the playoff berth would have made for a backslapping celebration with his buddies. So would a day aboard a walleye charter boat on Lake Erie. Instead, Steven is forever at attention on State Route 13.
On a side road along the perimeter of the bass infested Portage Lakes, Sergeant Daniel Crabtree reminds drivers that he once traveled this same road. Knowing the quality of bass fishing in the Portage Lakes, I can envision watching Daniel make cast after cast into the weedy waters where big bass like to hide. Hollow bodied frog or weightless plastic worm, Daniel?
Staff Sergeant Matthew Kuglics; Heath Warren, U.S.M.C.; Burt “Rusty” Miller; Corporal Keith Nepsa. In truth, I know nothing about your lives or how it was taken from you. I’m certain that your families petitioned whoever makes the decision to dedicate a stretch of highway to one of our nation’s fallen heroes.
In truth, America doesn’t have enough pavement to honor the heroes whose blood paid for our freedoms. The next time you pass one of these signs, take time to read it. While you may be going 70 miles per hour, reading the name on a sign will take much less time than trying to read a text on your phone. A quick glance and a silent thank you will suffice.
The name belongs to an American whose sense of duty led to a decision to serve his country. It resulted in a life cut short, a tightly folded flag at a funeral, and a silent vigil on a lonely stretch of highway. Honoring our veterans doesn’t need to be a once a year event. Say the name of the fallen hero as you pass the marker dedicated to a life sacrificed for our nation. Say it respectfully because that respect has been earned.
In doing so, you will come to realize it’s more than just a name on a sign.
Dedicated to Specialist Four William L. “Billy” Debo
1st Infantry Division, 1st Squadron, 4th Cavalry, A Troop
KIA Aug. 11, 1968, Bien Hoa, South Vietnam
Perry County native Ron Rosser returned home from the Korean War as a Medal of Honor recipient.