Published: March 30, 2009 06:51 am      

Bridge to be named in honor of fallen soldier

Signs will be erected on June 4

GREENUP — A bridge over the Little Sandy River will bear the name of fallen Greenup County soldier Army Specialist Jeremy R. Gullett.

Gov. Steve Beshear signed the joint resolution from the Kentucky General Assembly last week to designate a Ky. 2 bridge as Specialist Jeremy R. Gullett Memorial Bridge.

The bridge, number B00057, is at mile marker 13.203. Signs will be erected marking the bridge in his memory on June 4, which would have been Gullet’s 24th birthday.

“Gullett gallantly served his country with honor and distinction; He was remembered as ‘a good soldier and, more importantly... a great person’ by his former unit commander, he was also remembered as a ‘good kid’ by his former Junior ROTC instructor,” according to the Resolution.

It also read, “The Commonwealth of Kentucky has the highest respect for Specialist Jeremy R. Gullett and is deeply grateful for the sacrifice he made for the freedom of all Americans and to ensure the freedom of the Afghan people.”

Gullett was killed May 7 in the Sabari District of Afghanistan when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle during combat operations. He was assigned to the 4th Battalion, 320th Field Artillery Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division Air Assault based at Fort Campbell.

Also a member of the Little Sandy Volunteer Fire Department and Veterans of Foreign Wars, Gullett was laid to rest with full military and firefighter honors in his family’s cemetery in Wurtland.

Members of Gullett’s family could not be reached for comment.

Gullett will also be honored this summer during the state wide five-day “Some Gave All” Motorcycle Rally. The rally, organized by the Kentucky Association of Mortgage Professionals, Kentucky soldiers and their supporters, is planned for the first week of July and will honor all Kentucky soldiers who have died in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The rally will travel 1,100 miles across the state beginning July 1 and stopping for 10 town hall meetings. Six to 10 troops will be honored at each stop, according to organizers.

Gullett will be honored at the stop planned for July 5 in Ashland. Town hall stops are planned for London and Richmond on July 1, Bowling Green and Hopkinsville on July 2, Paducah and Owensboro on July 3, Louisville and Newport on July 4, and Lexington and Ashland on July 5.

CARRIE STAMBAUGH can be reached at cstambaugh@dailyindependent.com or (606) 326-2653.