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Highway 85 sign commemorates Coweta’s first fallen soldier |
2009-12-18 |
By Mary Moore |
A highway sign on Georgia State Highway 85 at the Coweta-Fayette line now bears the name of a fallen solider.
On Dec. 12, 2004, 23 year old Lance Cpl. Jeffery Steven Blanton was killed by enemy fire in Iraq.
Five years later, his friends and family gathered at the Senoia Masonic Lodge to honor his memory.
“He was a true hero who was willing to give his life for his country,” said Sen. Mitch Seabaugh, who attended the road dedication and memorial service this weekend.
Seabaugh presented commemorative signs to the young soldier’s family on Saturday, including Blanton’s father Steve and wife Amber, who is also a soldier and was stationed in Afghanistan when she found out the tragic news of Jeffery Blanton’s death.
“It is a big thrill to see his name on the side of the road. It will be there forever and a day,” said Steve Blanton.
Before his deployment, Blanton worked in Senoia as a Little League umpire and was involved in the Marine Corps ROTC at East Coweta High School.
“Like most folks he loved Senoia. He was a class clown and just an all around outstanding young man,” remembered Steve.
“His fellow soldiers in Iraq told me the same thing. If they were having a bad day, he would walk into a room and make them laugh. They miss him sorely.”
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