The video above is from our interview with Dick Tobiason in May, talking about his efforts to make the Medal of Honor Highway designation to coast-to-coast.
The 12th and final state Medal of Honor Highway on U.S. 20 will be dedicated Saturday. It’s the latest in a coast-to-coast project headed up the Bend Heroes Foundation.
The Massachusetts Medal of Honor Highway will be dedicated in Boston. Among those participating Saturday will be veteran Dick Tobiason, chairman of the Bend Heroes Foundation. He’s helped interested parties in those states write the bills that have allowed those laws to be passed.
Highway 20 runs from Oregon to Massachusetts — Pacific Ocean to Atlantic Ocean.
Oregon was the first state to designate Highway 20 a state Medal of Honor Highway. Since then, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Nebraska, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania and New York made similar designations.
Massachusetts’ designation means the title will be recognized coast to coast.
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The Bend Heroes Foundation says those states represent 62% of all 3,516 Medal of Honor recipients in history.
But the work is not done. At the request of the Bend Heroes Foundation. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., introduced legislation in May to designate the entire 3,365 miles of Highway 20 as the National Medal of Honor Highway. It was co-sponsored by Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore.
A companion bill was introduced in the House and co-sponsored by Reps. Lori-Chavez-DeRemer and Cliff Bentz, R-Ore.
