Custer County Board Of Supervisors Starts The Ball Rolling On Highway Dedication

CUSTER COUNTY—Plans are in the works to dedicate eight miles of Highway 40 to war hero and Medal of Honor recipient, Robert D. Booker. At the Custer County Board of Supervisors meeting on Tuesday, December 11 the board approved attorney Steve Bowers to draft up a resolution to allow the process to begin.

Charles Jorgenson, part of the Callaway American Legion Post 59, brought the proposal to the board in hopes of receiving approval to be able to take his resolution to the state. According to Jorgenson, Booker was born in Callaway in 1920 and served in the U.S. Army for only one year in World War II. Booker received his Medal of Honor after carrying his machine gun and ammunition through an open field and firing on enemy Germans.

Booker was shot, but continued to fire his weapon helping encourage the members of his squad. Booker was then mortally wounded by a second bullet resulting in his death in 1943. Robert Booker was awarded the Medal of Honor the following year.

“Our Post is named after him and there is an armory named after him in Omaha. I think it would be fitting for the 100th anniversary of the American Legion to name a highway after him,” said Charles Jorgenson.

Other approvals included the approving the designated newspapers for 2019, the incentive certification for the Highway Superintendent, as well as other smaller decisions.

The next Custer County Board of Supervisors Meeting will be held on Monday, December 24 at 9 A.M.

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