thedrifter
10-01-07, 06:05 AM
Bibb interchange dedicated in honor of Marine killed in Iraq
By Rodney Manley - rmanley@macon.com
Marine Sgt. Kelley Courtney grew up in the shadow of Hartley Bridge Road and Interstate 75. He didn't leave his home on nearby Barfield Road until 1998, when he and brother Donny joined the Marines.
Sunday, the interchange at Hartley Bridge Road and I-75 was dedicated in honor of Courtney, who was killed in Iraq three years ago in a car bombing.
"Those who travel that road will long know that an American son gave his life in a foreign land in a long and terrible struggle," the Rev. Bob Veazey told Courtney's family and others gathered for a ceremony at New Elim Baptist Church.
Courtney, a 28-year-old counter-intelligence soldier, was one of six Marines killed Oct. 30, 2004, while returning from a mission outside Fallujah, Iraq.
"He gave up his life fighting for our country and our freedoms, and we're here today to honor his ultimate sacrifice," said state Rep. Allen Peake, R-Macon, who introduced the legislation to rename the interchange after Courtney.
The soldier's father, Bob Courtney, said he hopes Sunday's ceremony brings some peace to the family.
He and his wife, Gena, who sat with Kelley Courtney's young son and daughter through the service, recently went to Atlanta to meet with artists working on portraits of Georgia men and women killed in Iraq and Afghanistan.
"It's coming up on the third year, and we've been doing a lot of things," Bob Courtney said. "I think with this, we can finally settle down."
Macon's U.S. Rep. Jim Marshall, D-Ga., said he learned while serving in Vietnam that a combat soldier's tour of duty is often tougher on the family than on the service man or woman.
"I say 'thank you' for the service of your loved one," Marshall said. "We've got to have the service of people like Kelley. If not, our way of life will be undone."
State Rep. Allen Freeman, R-Macon, urged the Courtney family to consider the dedication ceremony as "a celebration, not as a mourning." He read a letter from Gov. Sonny Perdue, then walked over and handed it to Courtney's widow, Cindy.
"Give this to your children when they're older," Freeman said softly.
Courtney was a "true patriot and American hero," said Bibb County Commission Chairman Charlie Bishop. "May his patriotism serve as an example for us all."
Before the service, members of the Patriot Guard motorcycle group, clutching American flags, formed an aisle in front of the church steps. Inside, the sound system carried the rock anthem "Freebird," Lynyrd Skynyrd's ode to bittersweet goodbyes.
A marker was unveiled during the service, and afterward new signs along Hartley Bridge Road were uncovered. With that, the Patriot Guard mounted Harleys and Hondas and, with an escort from Bibb County sheriff's deputies, rumbled over the interstate for a ceremonial first run over the new "Marine Sergeant Kelley Lance Courtney Interchange."
Ellie
By Rodney Manley - rmanley@macon.com
Marine Sgt. Kelley Courtney grew up in the shadow of Hartley Bridge Road and Interstate 75. He didn't leave his home on nearby Barfield Road until 1998, when he and brother Donny joined the Marines.
Sunday, the interchange at Hartley Bridge Road and I-75 was dedicated in honor of Courtney, who was killed in Iraq three years ago in a car bombing.
"Those who travel that road will long know that an American son gave his life in a foreign land in a long and terrible struggle," the Rev. Bob Veazey told Courtney's family and others gathered for a ceremony at New Elim Baptist Church.
Courtney, a 28-year-old counter-intelligence soldier, was one of six Marines killed Oct. 30, 2004, while returning from a mission outside Fallujah, Iraq.
"He gave up his life fighting for our country and our freedoms, and we're here today to honor his ultimate sacrifice," said state Rep. Allen Peake, R-Macon, who introduced the legislation to rename the interchange after Courtney.
The soldier's father, Bob Courtney, said he hopes Sunday's ceremony brings some peace to the family.
He and his wife, Gena, who sat with Kelley Courtney's young son and daughter through the service, recently went to Atlanta to meet with artists working on portraits of Georgia men and women killed in Iraq and Afghanistan.
"It's coming up on the third year, and we've been doing a lot of things," Bob Courtney said. "I think with this, we can finally settle down."
Macon's U.S. Rep. Jim Marshall, D-Ga., said he learned while serving in Vietnam that a combat soldier's tour of duty is often tougher on the family than on the service man or woman.
"I say 'thank you' for the service of your loved one," Marshall said. "We've got to have the service of people like Kelley. If not, our way of life will be undone."
State Rep. Allen Freeman, R-Macon, urged the Courtney family to consider the dedication ceremony as "a celebration, not as a mourning." He read a letter from Gov. Sonny Perdue, then walked over and handed it to Courtney's widow, Cindy.
"Give this to your children when they're older," Freeman said softly.
Courtney was a "true patriot and American hero," said Bibb County Commission Chairman Charlie Bishop. "May his patriotism serve as an example for us all."
Before the service, members of the Patriot Guard motorcycle group, clutching American flags, formed an aisle in front of the church steps. Inside, the sound system carried the rock anthem "Freebird," Lynyrd Skynyrd's ode to bittersweet goodbyes.
A marker was unveiled during the service, and afterward new signs along Hartley Bridge Road were uncovered. With that, the Patriot Guard mounted Harleys and Hondas and, with an escort from Bibb County sheriff's deputies, rumbled over the interstate for a ceremonial first run over the new "Marine Sergeant Kelley Lance Courtney Interchange."
Ellie