Editorial: Honor those who paid the ultimate sacrifice

Published 8:50 pm Tuesday, May 11, 2021

The recent renaming of a block of Water Street to Marion Ross Street in honor of “Happy Days” actress Marion Ross has raised discussion about the possibility of renaming a street to honor Chief Warrant Officer 3 Corey Goodnature and other service members who were killed while serving our nation.

We couldn’t agree more.

Goodnature was killed on June 28, 2005, when his helicopter was shot down after encountering intense enemy fire while performing a rescue mission in Afghanistan.

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Though it has been nearly 16 years since his death, that does not lessen the sacrifice he gave.

In addition to Goodnature, there are many others from previous conflicts and wars who also paid the ultimate sacrifice while serving our country. The families of these individuals have suffered profound losses.

While we celebrate and remember these heroes each Memorial Day, we like the idea of honoring them throughout the year with a street named in their honor.

It’s the least we can do as a community for those who sacrificed their own lives.

Just as there was a group of residents who brought up the idea to rename Water Street, we encourage other residents to step up behind this idea and bring the issue to the Albert Lea City Council and city staff.

We think there will be much community support for the idea, but we need a few community members to officially bring it forward.

We must forever remember these brave souls and their families.