If you see a sign on a major Oregon highway honoring veterans, their families, any kind of significant military service or sacrifice, Dick Tobiason put it there. Maybe not in person with a shovel and cement, but the longtime Bend resident and his Bend Heroes Foundation made it happen.
Now, he’s closer to making something even bigger happen. This session, Senator Ron Wyden, D-Ore., is expected to introduce legislation that would designate U.S. Highway 20 as the National Medal of Honor Highway.
That bill is Dick Tobiason’s doing. Highway 20 runs from Newport, Oregon to Boston, Massachusetts. Tobiason has already led the push to create 12 separate State Medal of Honor highways in the states through which it runs. And long ago, he made a promise to his friend Bob Maxwell — a recently deceased MOH recipient — that he would work to make the national highway designation a reality.
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Central Oregon Daily’s Allen Schauffler sat down with Tobiason to find out how it all came together. You can watch that in the video above.
In the video below, Tobiason tells the story of MOH recipient and Oregonian Elmer Fryar.
