BEND, OR -- Oregon House Bill 2100, designating US Highway 20 as the Oregon Medal of Honor Highway, was signed by Oregon Governor Kate Brown at a ceremony in Downtown Bend Friday.
Governor Brown joined Deschutes County Commissioners, area dignitaries, and bill sponsors to unveil a new highway sign, dedicating all 451 miles of US 20 to Oregon's 26 Medal of Honor recipients who served over the last 108 years. "Today we're honoring a WWII veteran, and I think what's so important is that our WWII vets are aging rapidly and we're losing a lot of them, and so to me, it's a really incredible opportunity to honor this veteran and his service, and all of our WWII veterans."
Mr. Robert D. "Bob" Maxwell is the nation's oldest living Medal of Honor winner, and the only recipient living in Oregon. Mr. Maxwell, only a few days away from his 97th birthday, was an honored guest at the ceremony.
Governor Brown said, "What I feel so strong about is that Oregonians strongly supported additional funding for our Department of Veterans Affairs to make sure that every single veteran in Oregon is getting the services that they need."
She wants the highway to be a reminder that veterans need our support. "We now have 1,500 vets across the state that are homeless, I want to make sure that over the next two years, we find a home for every single vet."
