US 131 receives memorial highway designation for three fallen heroes

Top: Mark Smith, State Rep. Tommy Brann, and John Burri. Bottom: Susan Smith, Rita Blodgett, Joanne Burri. (Tom De Vette)

Story By Joanne Bailey-Boorsma
joanne@wktv.org
Photos by Tom De Vette
Photographer and WKTV Volunteer

When John Burri drives down US 131 and sees the the brown-and-white sign with his son’s Eric’s name on it, he smiles a little.

“It is just what every parent wants who has lost a son, that he’s remembered. That a stranger would remember him and the sacrifice he made,” Burri said. Stationed in Iraq, Army Specialist 4th Class Eric Burri died on June 7, 2005 when an explosive device detonated near his Humvee in Baghdad.

Burri was one of three Wyoming residents who were killed while serving in Iraq. Army Private First Class Nicholas H. Blodgett died July 21, 2004 while serving during operation Iraqi Freedom when his patrol vehicle hit an improvise explosive device in Abdalluyah, Iraq. On Feb. 9, 2006, Marine Corporal Ross A. Smith died by an improvised explosive device while conducting combat operations near Fallujah, Iraq.

The U.S. 131 portion between exits 78 and 79 has been named the SPC Eric T. Burri Memorial Highway. (Tom De Vette)

The three men were honored earlier this year through House Bill 6025, sponsored by Rep. Tommy Brann, that would allow for portions of U.S. 131 to be designated as memorial highways. The three sections are all in Wyomig with the portion between exits 78 and 79 named the SPC Eric T. Burri Memorial Highway; between exits 79 and 80 is the Cpl. Ross A. Smith Memorial Highway; and the portion between exits 80 and 81 is now the PCF Nicholas H. Blodgett Memorial Highway.

“Eric knew the risk he was taking when he went over,” John Burri said when his son decided to enlist right after graduating from Kelloggsville High School. Burri said his son wanted to see the world, learn languages and meet different people.

Burri said Eric was touched by the poverty he witnessed, commenting to family members that if he could he would “give them the shoes off my feet.” After Eric’s death, as a tribute, the family organized a shoe drive for the children in Iraq.

The portion of U.S. 131 between exits 79 and 80 has been named the Cpl. Ross A. Smith Memorial Highway. (Tom De Vette)

Ross Smith was the youngest of three and wanted to follow in his older brother’s footsteps and become a Marine. He enlisted before his senior year at Wyoming’s Park High School and was on his third tour of Iraq when he was killed. After the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, Sue Smith commented that she has asked her son to reconsider his enlistment.

“He said they needed him even now more than before,” she said.

The portion of U.S. 131 between exits 80 and 81 has been named the PCF Nicholas H. Blodgett Memorial Highway. (Tom DeVette)

A Grand Rapids Central Catholic High School graduate, Nicholas Blodgett joined the army a couple of years after graduating from high school. Family members recalled that Blodgett wanted to be in security or a police officer so he enlisted in the Army in 2003. His former high school principal said he remembered Blodgett as wanting to stay involved, so he returned to the school the year after his graduation to help with the color guard.

Army Private First Class Nicholas Blodgett

Blodgett’s troop commander Capt. Cory Mack, remembered him as a “highly motivated and disciplined soldier, answering every question with ‘Yes, sir’ or ‘Roger sergeant.’”

Brann introduced the bill for the memorial highway designations earlier this year. The bill was approved with the signs installed in the spring. Brann hosted a special program in May for the families and friends at his restaurant, Brann’s Steakhouse and Grille, located on Division Avenue.

“It is not so much for me,” Burri said of the memorial highways. “It is to let my grandkids know that there uncle was here. That he was part of this community.”