Nebraska gets new rest area signs honoring Veterans

Nebraska gets new rest area signs honoring Veterans

Nebraska gets new rest area signs honoring Veterans
It's just a small sign with a simple message: "Nebraska honors our troops. Thank you for your service." Short, concise, and to the point. Bob Swanson, a U.S. Navy veteran and past commander of American Legion Post No. 1 in Omaha, thought it would be great to honor the 148,000 veterans in Nebraska with roadway signs bearing that message of gratitude.... Nearly one million men and women have died defending America since our founding, and we owe it to them to never forget. The fathers, mothers, widows, widowers, sisters, brothers, and children think about their service member every day. We have an obligation to be there for them as American citizens and to make sure their service to this nation will always be remembered.
“It is said that sacrifice is meaningless without remembrance. We have an obligation to ensure that every veteran, and their families, feels that his or her service to our country is appreciated by their fellow Americans. These signs will serve for years as a tangible acknowledgment of their sacrifice, and our appreciation. When travelers see these signs hopefully they will think about their neighbor who has a son or daughter in the service. Their families, some widowed, some orphaned, all hurting and forever changed". With that in mind, Bob Swanson took on a project to have signs made honoring our veterans with a vision of having one in every rest area on I-80, West and East bound across Nebraska …covering all 454 miles, no easy feat for sure.
With the cooperation of the Nebraska Department of Roads, and with a significant “jumpstart” from NE. State Sen. Bob Krist, the project got started about 12 months ago to honor our troops and is now complete. These signs are now installed in all the rest areas across Nebraska on Interstate 80. Hundreds of thousands of out-of-state visitors stop in these rest areas each year, and the signs, placed in close proximity to the flag pole, will let them know that we recognize the men and women who serve, and the sacrifices made by them and their families. The NDOR provided the installation of the signs, they were paid for with donations from individuals and organizations, and Bob Swanson provided the vision and the tremendous effort it took to put this together. Bob Swanson is a veteran of the U.S. Navy and past commander of The American Legion Omaha Post 1. Contributing story by Chinh Doan of KETV 7 news. Edit by Hammer.