Medal of Honor Highway brings out the best in area residents

LAUREL — Several area veterans were on a mission of remembrance in May.

The men began a 432-mile walk along Highway 20 May 11.

Highway 20 through Nebraska was officially designated last July as the Medal of Honor Highway. The Nebraska Department of Roads unveiled the first sign last July at South Sioux City celebrating the change.

The walk was set up to both christen Nebraska’s newly minted portion of the Medal of Honor Highway and honor Nebraska’s 73 Medal of Honor recipients.

“I got it started I guess. I got 31 towns on Highway 20. I got their ‘yes’s. Then all 12 counties. I got all the ‘yes’s” from them,” Laurel native Gene Twiford told KTIV News. “I didn’t have much trouble, no body said ‘no’. That was a good project, it was an easy project.”

Gov. Pete Ricketts approved the name change in January, making Nebraska the fifth state to adopt it for the highway which winds from coast to coast. They started at the Wyoming border, and finished 12 days later at South Sioux City’s Siouxland Freedom Park.

To celebrate the event, area veterans walked up and down hills, and through rain, heat, and wind before winding up in Laurel Friday at 11:30 a.m.

After a community supper and an overnight in Laurel, they then headed out again toward their final destination in South Sioux City where they handed off their flags to some Iowa veterans who planned to traverse that state from border to border.

The goal is that one day South Sioux City will be the mid-point of the national Medal of Honor highway.

Nebraska currently only has one living recipient of the Congressional Medal of Honor — former Governor and Senator Bob Kerrey earned the honor while serving in Vietnam.

Kerrey was a U.S. Navy SEAL in Vietnam during the 1960s and was awarded the Medal of Honor by President Richard Nixon in the White House in May of 1970 for actions he conducted where he lost the lower part of his leg in Vietnam during an action on March 14, 1969.

His wounds ended up forcing him to leave the military. After years in private business, he then entered politics.

The organizers of the walk, Daryl Harrison and Ken Hanel, were greeted with patriotic displays and cheers as they arrived at Laurel on Friday.

The journey was extra special for area residents as Laurel’s Dwayne Freeman was part of the group to make the entire border-to-border journey along Highway 20.

After walking across the state of Nebraska the men were excited to celebrate their accomplishment with a ceremony at Siouxland Freedom Park.

“Honor them. Don’t forget them. And, we’re not going to let you,” said Daryl Harrison at the celebration.

The two say they felt a sense of pride after finishing the walk.

“Neither one of us could be more proud of America and Nebraska and all those people that we saw out there waving their flags and telling us that America was still alive. That was grand and it made every step worth it,” said Harrison.

The walk was nothing compared to the sacrifice these Medal of Honor recipients, made in their lifetimes,” said Hanel, a Beemer resident.

“We made a 12-day sacrifice, but you’ve got to remember, our men and women of the armed service, they keep a vigil over this country 24 hours a day, 365 days a year,” Hanel said.

Harrison said he hopes their walk helps to inspire the other states along the highway to make the honor designation.

“We want the other states that have yet to name their highways to get it done. We have work to do and we’re waiting on them. We know they had to deal with COVID and we know they had serious things that had to be done. But now it’s time,” said Harrison.

Making sure those who gave everything, are remembered in return.

The Medal of Honor is the highest military decoration that can be bestowed.

Since it was created in 1863, only 3,500 Americans have received this honor.