House OKs resolution naming section of U.S. 50 for fallen soldier | Belleville News-Democrat

A section of new U.S. 50 between Breese and Carlyle would be renamed in honor of a fallen serviceman under a resolution approved Saturday by the Illinois House.

The House adopted a resolution honoring a fallen National Guardsman — Staff Sgt. Joshua Melton of Breese. House Joint Resolution 74 sponsored by Rep. Charlie Meier, R-Okawville, passed unanimously in the House of Representatives.

The resolution now heads to the Senate for approval and will be sponsored by Sen. Kyle McCarter, R-Lebanon. If approved, the resolution will designate the section of new U.S. 50 between Carlyle and Breese as the SSG Joshua Melton Memorial Highway.

Melton was a member of the Illinois Army National Guard, joining a year before his graduation from Central Community High School in Breese. He was on his second deployment after serving in Iraq from December 2004 to March 2006 when he was killed while serving in Kandahar, Afghanistan, on June 19, 2009.

“It’s always a tragedy when we lose a member of the armed forces in combat,” Meier said in a released statement. “We owe our freedom to soldiers like Sgt. Joshua Melton who made the ultimate sacrifice so we can live our lives without the fear of tyranny. I believe that this resolution is a fitting way to remember this brave soldier who gave his life for this great country.”