State Rep. Julie Alexander’s proposal to honor a Jackson fallen Jackson soldier was approved by the House Transportation Committee, the Hanover representative’s office said in a Tuesday news release.
Sergeant Matthew R. Soper Memorial Highway is the new name for a stretch of M-60 from Fairway Drive to Emerson Road in Jackson County. Soper, a Michigan Army National Guard soldier and Jackson native, died while fighting in Iraq in 2007.
Soper was 25 years old.
“Our military heroes continually put their lives on the line to protect American freedoms and ideals,” Alexander said. “This tribute memorializes Sgt. Soper and recognizes the sacrifice he made for his fellow community members and his country. We are forever indebted to that sacrifice.”
In his obituary published in the Jackson Citizen-Patriot in 2007, Soper, or “Big Slick,” was called “the light of his family.”
“He was brave, he was strong, and lent to us for too short a time,” the obituary said.
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