Highway overpass in Rancho Cucamonga named after Lance Cpl. Dylan Merola, SoCal Marine killed in 2021 Kabul attack

“We acknowledge that your sacrifice was not simply your individual, that it was 12 others, that it was 200 plus others,” stated a detailed good friend.

RANCHO CUCAMONGA, Calif. (KABC) — The Haven Avenue overpass over the 210 Freeway in Rancho Cucamonga can be renamed in honor of a fallen hometown hero.

“Put up mile marker 6.1.913 now to be recognized perpetually because the Lance Cpl. Dylan Merola Memorial freeway overcrossing,” introduced Assemblyman James Ramos of Highland.

Throughout a transferring ceremony, a number of members of the group gathered to recollect the lifetime of U.S. Marine Lance Cpl. Dylan Merola.

Merola was considered one of 13 U.S. service members killed throughout an August 2021 suicide bomb assault on the Kabul airport in Afghanistan. He and his unit have been serving to with the evacuation forward of the Taliban’s takeover.

READ ALSO | Disneyland honors Lance Cpl. Dylan Merola, SoCal Marine killed in 2021 Kabul assault

A decision authored by Ramos and signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom will honor his sacrifice by renaming the freeway overpass positioned not removed from the place Merola grew up and dreamed of changing into a Marine.

“Dylan’s defining second was the day I picked him up from boot camp … he had earned the title United States Marine by vigorous coaching. My child boy had become a person,” stated Merola’s mom, Cheryl Rex.

Rex thanked the group for his or her continued assist. She remembered her 20-year-old son for his kindness, braveness and bravado.

“Dylan took pleasure in all his efforts to get as many individuals to security as attainable. He would rise up and do that another time simply to save lots of yet one more individual,” she stated.

A bit over a yr in the past, the Haven Avenue overpass was crowded with mourners who held American flags and stood in honor of Merola throughout a procession bringing his stays house to be buried.

Now, the identical overpass will bear his title for years to return remind all who cross beneath and over it of his sacrifice.

“We acknowledge that your sacrifice was not simply your individual, that it was 12 others, that it was 200 plus others,” stated Merola’s finest good friend, Dakota Mancuso. “We thanks, we love you, and we miss you and we can’t neglect you.”