Route 173 through Hebron to be renamed

At 7 p.m. today, members of Chapter VI-Elite Forces, 173rd Airborne Brigade Association will be at the village hall of Hebron to witness the vote on a resolution to designate "the portion of Illinois Route 173 which passes through" Hebron "as the 173rd Airborne Brigade Highway.

The members of Chapter VI are appreciative to the Citizens of Hebron for considering this action. The men and women who have served and are serving in the 173rd Airborne Brigade share a 90-year history of service from activation in 1917 during World War I as the 173rd Infantry Brigade.

In 1942, the Brigade was reactivated as the 87th Reconnaissance Troop which resulted in their serving as part of General Patton's Third Army in the Battle of the Bulge and Rhine River Crossing.

The third activation as the 173rd Airborne Brigade in 1963 occurred in Okinawa with deployment to Vietnam as the Army's First In-Last Out Combat Unit conducting the only Combat Airborne Assault of the War and being awarded with the Presidential Unit Citation and Meritorious Unit Commendation.

The current fourth activation as the 173rd Airborne Brigade occurred in Vicenza, Italy, in 2000. Since then the Brigade has been deployed for one tour in Iraq with a Combat Airborne Assault and award of their second Meritorious Unit Commendation as the blocking force in the north and two tours in Afghanistan where they presently serve on the border with Pakistan.

With the anticipated approval of this Resolution, the citizens of Hebron will recognize the service provided by the Sons and Daughters of Illinois who have served their country in the 173rd Infantry Brigade, 87th Reconnaissance Troop and 173rd Airborne Brigade.

Chapter VI-Elite Forces, 173rd Airborne Brigade Association, thanks to the citizens of Hebron with the unique Salute of the "Herd."