One of the saddest chapters in Livingston County history was back in November of 2004, when Marine Lance Cpl. Michael Hanks was killed in action in Iraq.
Hanks grew up in Gregory and attended the Fowlerville Community Schools his entire life, and enlisted in the Marines when he was 18.
He had already done one tour in Iraq and was just beginning his second one when he was killed in enemy action on Nov. 17, 2004.
Anyone who was around Livingston County back then – particularly Fowlerville – remembers how incredibly sad it was. His funeral took place at the Brighton Church of the Nazarene and there were almost 400 people on hand to mourn the fallen hero.
Lance Cpl. Hanks will never be forgotten in his hometown, but to help make sure of that, State Rep. Jason Woolford, R-Howell, a former Marine himself, recently introduced a piece of legislation that would name a bridge in his honor.
House Bill 4189 was introduced by Rep. Woolford in March, and it would name the bridge on south Grand Avenue that crosses over I-96 in Fowlerville the “LCpl Michael W. Hanks Memorial Bridge.”
Good on you, Rep. Woolford. There isn’t a whole lot of heartwarming news that ever comes out of Lansing, but this certainly qualifies as that. And we need to thank our elected officials when they do the right thing – especially something as bipartisan as this.
This would be a small tribute to a fallen hero, but a wonderful and very deserved one.
Rep. Woolford introduced the bill on March 6 with a host of co-sponsors (all Republicans, although hopefully some Democrats will sign on, as well). It was assigned to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. I’m sure Rep. Woolford will make it a priority to get this passed.
