PIQUA - Several miles of state highway along State Route 66, from the city's Veterans Memorial to the Miami-Shelby county line, was officially dedicated today in honor of a fallen Piqua soldier who made the ultimate sacrifice for his country.

A marker was unveiled this morning designating that portion of State Route 66 as the Cpl. Samuel F. Pearson Memorial Highway as a part of the city's Memorial Day observance, which begin with a parade at 9 a.m. followed by a service at about 10 a.m.

Mr. Pearson, 28, died Oct. 10, 2007, from an insurgence attack at Camp Victory in Baghdad, Iraq, near the city's international airport as he was standing near a dining hall. He had been deployed only six weeks earlier.




The highway dedication was the result of legislation passed last year at the state level that was introduced by former State Rep. Diana Fessler of the 79th District.

Mr. Pearson's father, Randy, said his family appreciated Fessler's actions.

"As painful as it may be to see a sign with your son's name on it - a memorial sign - we really appreciated (Diana Fessler's) wanting to remember Sam," Randy said. "We have so much respect for and we're so proud of what Sam did and we thought it was a very nice honor."

A 1998 Piqua High School graduate, Mr. Pearson played football and later graduated from Otterbein College in 2003 with an economics degree. Mr. Pearson gave up an accounting job in Columbus to join the Army Reserves in September 2006 with the Army Finance Corps.

Mr. Pearson was laid to rest on Oct. 2, 2007, at the Forest Hill Cemetery following a funeral procession attended by thousands.

The highway dedication in Mr. Pearson's honor is one of several others around the state for fallen Ohio soldiers.