|
|
| Toy, Sizemore, to be honored Tuesday |
|
|
10/23/2014
By Tom Marshall
Senior Advocate writer
There will be a ceremony to rename two Montgomery County roads in honor of a Pearl Harbor survivor and a soldier who lost his life in Iraq 5 p.m. Tuesday at the Montgomery County Airport.
Legislation filed earlier this year calls for Kentucky Route 2346 to be named the “Pearl Harbor Survivor SSG John C. Toy Highway,” which pays tribute to Toy’s surviving the bombing of Pearl Harbor Dec. 7, 1941.
In the other dedication, a portion of U.S. 60 from Mt. Sterling to exit 101 of I-64 will be named the “Staff Sergeant Garth Sizemore Memorial Highway,” a release said.
“These men have served our community and our country with distinction and I am deeply honored we could play a role in recognizing these true heroes,” state Rep. Richard Henderson, D-Mt. Sterling, said in the release. “This will help make sure the memory of their sacrifice is never forgotten.”
Sen. R.J. Palmer, D-Winchester, will join Henderson in making the presentation.
“They’re heroes, and we know they’re heroes, but we need to remember why they’re heroes,” Palmer said. “Naming roads after people who have not only served their country, but this state, is a great way of recognizing their service and sacrifice. I’m very pleased we are recognizing their extraordinary bravery by naming the roads in their honor. This is a fitting tribute and will ensure that their names and all they did for their country will be remembered for years to come.”
Sizemore, 31, died Oct. 16, 2006, in what the military said were combat-related injuries suffered in Baghdad, Iraq. He was assigned to 1st Battalion, 26th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team based in Germany.
Sizemore was a former Montgomery County High School and Morehead State University student who joined the U.S. Army in 1999.
His father, Glenn Sizemore, told the Associated Press at the time that his son was an independent thinker who lived with his decisions. His son loved the outdoors and playing guitar.
Toy, who turned 96 in August, is the current president of the Kentucky Pearl Harbor Survivors Association and has remained active in Mt. Sterling over the years. He is also a member of Post 22 of the American Legion.
Toy served as an anti-aircraft gunner at the Hawaii base, where he arrived in 1941 after completing basic training.
In prior interviews, Toy said he had just finished breakfast and was headed to the shower for a shave when the Japanese attacked.
The Japanese fighters took turns firing at rows of American planes, but escaped before Toy could load his gun and fire back, he recalled.
Toy told the Advocate that there was great fear that another wave of Japanese attack planes would return, but it didn’t materialize.
The families and friends of both men are expected to attend the ceremony, which will also include a ribbon cutting for the airport’s new administration building.
Those attending will include MCHS JROTC; American Legion Auxiliary Unit 22; two commissioners from the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet, Winn Turney of the Dept. of Aviation and Don Pasley of the Dept. of Rural and Municipal Aid; and Tony Wilder, the commissioner of the Dept. for Local Government.
Henderson told the Advocate previously that other veterans should consider these dedications as an honor to their service as well.
A portion of U.S. 460 between Camargo and Jeffersonville has already been designated the “Dustin Gross Memorial Highway” in memory of U.S. Army Pvt. Dustin Gross, who was killed May 7, 2012, while serving in Afghanistan. He was 19.
|
|
|
|
|