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By Jim Carney
Beacon Journal staff writer
POSTED: 08:46 p.m. EDT, May 18, 2009
CUYAHOGA FALLS: The names of two men killed in Iraq will never be forgotten.
Monday, the eastbound lanes of a stretch of Front Street (state Route 59) from state Route 8 to Silver Lake were designated the Sgt. Bryan W. Large Memorial Highway. And the westbound lanes were named for Marine Sgt. Justin T. Walsh.
''I don't ever want anybody to forget the sacrifices of my son and the military,'' said Larry Large of Stow, the father of Bryan Large.
Large, 31, a 1992 graduate of Cuyahoga Falls High School, was a medic and a paratrooper who had served both in Afghanistan and Iraq before he was killed in October 2005 by a roadside bomb.
Walsh, 24, a 2001 graduate of Cuyahoga Falls High School, was serving his third tour in Iraq when he was wounded by a roadside bomb. He died several days later in October 2006 at the National Naval Medical Center in Maryland.
Jim Walsh, Justin Walsh's father, said he hopes the signs on the highway cause people to reflect on the sacrifices members of the armed services have made.
''I don't think we give enough honor to these men and women who died,'' said Walsh, of Mantua Township. ''We don't hold them high enough. Politicians, musicians, sports figures, aren't going to save this country. These guys are.''
The fathers are both truck drivers and have known each other for more than 25 years.
Falls Mayor Don Robart said 22,500 vehicles drive the highway each day. He hopes motorists will see the signs and think of the men who died.
Justin Walsh and Bryan Large, Robart said, were all-American boys who loved sports, the outdoors, their families and their country.
''They bled red, white and blue,'' said Robart, a Marine veteran. ''They loved flying Old Glory around the world.''
Terri Walsh, Justin's mother, of Ravenna, said she hopes the signs serve as a reminder of all soldiers.
''I just hope they remember and understand what they are doing over there,'' she said. ''We are free for a reason.''
Linda Large, mother of Bryan Large, said the family thanked Falls officials for the signs.
Several other parents who have lost sons in Iraq attended the ceremony, including Les and Donna Kuglics of Green, whose son, Air Force Staff Sgt. Matthew Kuglics, 25, of Green, was killed in 2007; Jim Boskovitch of Cuyahoga Falls, whose son, Marine Cpl. Jeffrey Boskovitch, 25, of Seven Hills, was killed in 2005; and Michael Finke Sr. of Sharon Township, father of Marine Sgt. Michael Finke Jr., 28, of Huron, formerly of Medina County, who was killed in Iraq in 2005.
Jim Carney can be reached at 330-996-3576 or jcarney@thebeaconjournal.com.
CUYAHOGA FALLS: The names of two men killed in Iraq will never be forgotten.
Monday, the eastbound lanes of a stretch of Front Street (state Route 59) from state Route 8 to Silver Lake were designated the Sgt. Bryan W. Large Memorial Highway. And the westbound lanes were named for Marine Sgt. Justin T. Walsh.
''I don't ever want anybody to forget the sacrifices of my son and the military,'' said Larry Large of Stow, the father of Bryan Large.
Large, 31, a 1992 graduate of Cuyahoga Falls High School, was a medic and a paratrooper who had served both in Afghanistan and Iraq before he was killed in October 2005 by a roadside bomb.
Walsh, 24, a 2001 graduate of Cuyahoga Falls High School, was serving his third tour in Iraq when he was wounded by a roadside bomb. He died several days later in October 2006 at the National Naval Medical Center in Maryland.
Jim Walsh, Justin Walsh's father, said he hopes the signs on the highway cause people to reflect on the sacrifices members of the armed services have made.
''I don't think we give enough honor to these men and women who died,'' said Walsh, of Mantua Township. ''We don't hold them high enough. Politicians, musicians, sports figures, aren't going to save this country. These guys are.''
The fathers are both truck drivers and have known each other for more than 25 years.
Falls Mayor Don Robart said 22,500 vehicles drive the highway each day. He hopes motorists will see the signs and think of the men who died.
Justin Walsh and Bryan Large, Robart said, were all-American boys who loved sports, the outdoors, their families and their country.
''They bled red, white and blue,'' said Robart, a Marine veteran. ''They loved flying Old Glory around the world.''
Terri Walsh, Justin's mother, of Ravenna, said she hopes the signs serve as a reminder of all soldiers.
''I just hope they remember and understand what they are doing over there,'' she said. ''We are free for a reason.''
Linda Large, mother of Bryan Large, said the family thanked Falls officials for the signs.
Several other parents who have lost sons in Iraq attended the ceremony, including Les and Donna Kuglics of Green, whose son, Air Force Staff Sgt. Matthew Kuglics, 25, of Green, was killed in 2007; Jim Boskovitch of Cuyahoga Falls, whose son, Marine Cpl. Jeffrey Boskovitch, 25, of Seven Hills, was killed in 2005; and Michael Finke Sr. of Sharon Township, father of Marine Sgt. Michael Finke Jr., 28, of Huron, formerly of Medina County, who was killed in Iraq in 2005.
Jim Carney can be reached at 330-996-3576 or jcarney@thebeaconjournal.com.
Comments
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......, Oh
Posted 09:32 PM, 05/18/2009
Outstanding article Jim Carney.
I thank each and every one of Military women & men from the bottom of my heart for your sacrifice. Thank you for giving your all.
R.I.P. Dan Crabtree
Akron, Oh
Posted 09:10 AM, 05/19/2009
A fitting tribute.
God bless these soldiers -- and all of our nation's soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines -- as well as their families.
Akron, Oh
Posted 11:09 AM, 05/19/2009
Great Tribute to these two Soldiers.
God Bless all of our Nation's Military.
God Bless this Country, We are all going
to need it.
akron, oh
Posted 11:14 AM, 05/19/2009
A nice memorial for these brave young men. The signs are placed in a good area, tens of thousands of people will see and remember them each day.
RIP Daniel Crabtree
somewhere near you, OH
Posted 12:46 AM, 05/20/2009
A speed trap named after cannon fodder? How touching.
