A House Joint Resolution that would rename a stretch of U.S. Route 150 in honor of a fallen Galesburg soldier passed out of committee Tuesday afternoon on an 18-0 vote.
The resolution designates the portion of U.S. Route 150 within Galesburg city limits as the “SFC Kyle Wehrly Memorial Highway.” It now heads to the full House for adoption.
The resolution was sponsored by Republican State Rep. Dan Swanson, who served as Wehrly’s commanding officer as a lieutenant colonel in the Illinois Army National Guard.
Speaking on the House floor, Swanson described both his personal connection to Wehrly and the significance of the highway designation.
“Sgt. 1st Class Wehrly was one of the reasons — one of the local soldiers who came home in a flag-draped casket — that pulled me out of retirement after six years to put the uniform on and go to Iraq,” Swanson said.
Swanson also described the specific stretch of road that would carry Wehrly’s name. “This resolution will rename a section of Route 150 through Galesburg from the north side of Route 150 all the way through Galesburg on the south, exiting the southeast corner of Galesburg,” he said. “A road that he traveled on many times as a young man in the community, having been a graduate of Galesburg schools. So I think it’s fitting that we honor him with the naming of that highway.”
Wehrly was 28 years old when he was killed serving in Operation Iraqi Freedom. An improvised explosive device detonated near his High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle during patrol operations in Ashraf, Iraq.
