Road may be named for Chambersburg grad killed in Afghanistan in 2010

HARRISBURG - Pennsylvania legislators have taken a major step in honoring three local veterans, each serving in a different war.

The House unanimously approved a bill that would name:

• A section of Mount Pleasant Road in Greene Township as the Lance Corporal Michael L. Freeman Jr. Memorial Highway.
• A bridge on Pa.  533 over Muddy Run in Southampton Township, Franklin County, as the Private First Class Dana Edward Diehl Memorial Bridge.
• A bridge on Scotland Road State over the Conococheague Creek in Greene Township as the Private Charles W. "Bill" Roher Memorial Bridge.

The bill now goes to the Senate and, if approved, to the governor's desk. 

The conflicts in which the men fought span more than 50 years -- World War II to Vietnam to Afghanistan:

• Freeman died from injuries suffered in an IED (improvised explosive device) explosion in Afghanistan on Feb. 1, 2010, a month before he was to return home. He was 21. He joined the Marines soon after graduating from Chambersburg Area Senior High School in 2008. He was a machine gunner assigned to 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade. He deployed to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom in October 2009. His awards include the Purple Heart Medal, Combat Action Ribbon and the Afghanistan Campaign Medal. A gantry mill has been named in his honor at Letterkenny Army Depot.
• Diehl was killed on Dec. 10, 1968, in Hau Nghia Province, South Vietnam, when his convoy hit a mine. He was 21. Drafted on March 15, 1968, Diehl served a medical specialist with the 25th Infantry Division, 3rd Squadron, 4th Cavalry, Headquarters Troop. He often fished Muddy Run with his father.
• Roher of Chambersburg served with Company C, 194th Glider Infantry, during World War II. The 20-year-old private fought in the Battle of the Bulge and was wounded on Jan. 11, 1945. He was awarded the Bronze Star and the Purple Heart for action in the battle in the Belgian Ardennes Forest. He became an antiques dealer and died at the age of 71 in 1996.