FORT GREGG-ADAMS, Va. -- Friday, a major section of Fort Gregg-Adams is set to undergo a renaming to honor those who have lost a loved one in the line of duty.
It's a move that leaders at the military base hope will bring some comfort to Gold Star families.
The Bishop-Anderson Bridge, which connects two sections of Fort Gregg-Adams, will now be called Gold Star Bridge.
The bridge is visible from outside the fort on Route 36, which was memorialized as Blue Star Highway several years ago.
"For every person that I've lead, I look behind and I think there's a family behind there that's represented," explained Colonel Jim Hoyman, Fort Gregg-Adams Garrison Commander. "I have a sacred trust to care for them, and then ultimately care for their family as well. And so our Gold Star families are people that we want to care well for and, and we thank them so much for what they've done."
While Hoyman says he can’t always make the promise to bring their loved one home alive, they can ensure their legacies live on.
CBS 6 spoke to Deborah Leach who works in the fort's Survivor Outreach Services office.
Leach's son, SPC Richard McNulty III, was 22 years old when he was killed during combat in Afghanistan on Mother’s Day 2012.
Leach said one of her biggest fears after her son died was that the community would forget his sacrifice. This bridge renaming will help keep her son's name and the other heroes legacies alive.
"It tells me that our fallen soldiers will never be forgotten," she noted. "For me, that is one of the things I always worried about when my son was first killed. And I think I just think it's great, because it'll always be there. And the memory will always be there."
The bridge renaming will take place at 4:30 p.m.
Saturday morning at 8:30 a.m. Fort Gregg-Adams will hold its 13th annual Run for the Fallen at Williams Stadium. Anyone is welcome to attend.
The route will now travel across the Gold Star Bridge, which will be lined with pictures of Gold Star members.
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