“This warms my heart and I’m glad that this community recognizes Adam’s bravery and that he made the ultimate sacrifice. When I drive past this sign I will smile and be thankful,” Scott Hamilton said during his emotional speech in remembrance and gratitude for his son, fallen soldier Adam Hamilton.

The Adam Hamilton Highway Dedication Ceremony was hosted in the Kent Roosevelt High School auditorium on Veteran’s Day, Tuesday, Nov. 11, to honor the unveiling of the road sign dedicating the section of State Route 43 between Fairchild Ave. and the city limits as the Spc. Adam S. Hamilton Memorial Highway. 

Adam Hamilton was a 2007 graduate of Kent Roosevelt High School and attended Lakeland Community College before enlisting in the army.

During a tour in Afghanistan, Hamilton sustained life-threatening injuries that eventually took his life. State Representative Kathleen Clyde said, “[Hamilton] died on Saturday May 28, 2011 due to injuries sustained by an enemy improvised explosive device while serving in Afghanistan during Operation: Enduring Freedom.”

At the dedication ceremony Congressman Tim Ryan said Kathleen Clyde was the driving force behind the dedication but the Kent Community has come together to embrace its hero. He said, “A community reveals itself by the men and women it honors and remembers.”

Scott Hamilton, Adam’s father, said, “This community has wrapped its arms around my family and embraced a local hero.”

Ryan hopes as students drive past the sign on their way to school that they will remember Hamilton and remember to live their lives as he lived his. 

“He treated everyone with respect and went above and beyond the average solider. His integrity isn’t even a question and he had the heart of a lion, was a great best friend, and amazing son and brother,” said David Cruz, Hamilton’s best friend and fellow soldier.

Emotions ran high as the unveiling approached and Cruz shed tears as he ended his speech by saying, “‘Dear Adam Hamilton, It’s been three years since I’ve seen you. I miss you.’”