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State senator wants to honor Neil Armstrong with memorial highway
TIFFANY L. PARKS
Special to the Legal News
Published: October 23, 2014
A Springboro lawmaker has filed a bill into the Ohio General Assembly to honor Neil Armstrong.
“Mr. Armstrong is arguably one of the greatest Ohioans of a generation,” said Sen. Shannon Jones in a memorandum to lawmakers.
Senate Bill 363 would designate a stretch of State Route 123 within Warren County as the Neil Armstrong Memorial Highway.
“Neil Armstrong spent more than a decade of his life residing along Ohio 123 between Lebanon and Springboro,” said Jones, a Republican, noting that the designation would extend through Red Lion.
Armstrong, who died in August 2012, gained worldwide recognition as the first person to walk on the Moon in 1969. His family described him as a “reluctant” U.S. hero.
“Best known for his achievements as an astronaut, Neil Armstrong was also a dedicated servant to our nation,” Jones said.
“He honorably served as a naval aviator during the Korean War. After navigating space and becoming the first man to walk on the moon, Neil Armstrong became a professor at the University of Cincinnati.”
A Purdue University graduate, Armstrong taught in the UC’s department of aerospace engineering for eight years and turned down offers to enter the political arena.
“Mr. Armstrong was a dedicated Ohioan who will forever be remembered as an American hero,” Jones said.
If the proposed legislation is signed into law, the director of the Ohio Department of Transportation could install suitable markers along the designated stretch of highway indicating its honorary name.
SB 363 has gained bipartisan support in being co-sponsored by Sens. Randy Gardner, Peggy Lehner, Bill Beagle, John Eklund, Bill Seitz, Jim Hughes and Eric Kearney.
The bill is awaiting a committee assignment.
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