Part Of Highway 20 In Collinsville To Be Renamed In Honor Of Fallen Soldier

Part of a Green Country highway is being renamed to honor a fallen Owasso soldier.

Technical Sergeant Marshall Roberts died in a rocket attack while serving in Iraq in March 2020. Part of Highway 20 in Collinsville will now be known as "Tech Sergeant Marshall D. Roberts Memorial Highway." It will run between 145th East Avenue and 209th East Avenue.

A formal ceremony took place Wednesday morning in Claremore at the Roberts family business where Tech Sgt. Roberts worked as a teenager with his father. It comes nearly nine months after two local lawmakers introduced a bill to rename the highway in the Oklahoma legislature.

"I've had a lot of people ask me: 'Are you sure you can live with the memory of seeing that highway every day and this memorial in your life every day? And my response is pretty clear: I have to live that life every day and I start it every morning with my son. It gets me through the day, in the hard and the fun times," said Randy Roberts, his father.

Dozens of people attended, including about 30 Oklahoma Air National Guard members, Senator James Lankford, Congressman Kevin Hern, and Roberts' father, wife, and young daughter.

Tech Sgt. Roberts died in March of 2020 while serving in Iraq. The 28-year-old was the first Oklahoma Air Guardsman to be killed in action.

His father Randy became very emotional at times when talking about what this means to him.

"This highway and this memorial behind me, I do for my granddaughter, Peyton Roberts. This is for you. This is for you to bring your children and your grandchildren and say look how great your grandfather was."

Others who spoke at the ceremony said it's especially meaningful for the Roberts family since they routinely drive this stretch of highway.