Decatur Township — Veterans Day this year was a special occasion for the family of Lt. Col. Scott D. Evans. That is when the Lawrence County Commissioners formally unveiled the sign that now marks a section of State Route 373 for Evans.

Recently the commissioners sent a request to the Ohio Department of Transportation that a section of the state route between the south 1.14 mile marker and the north 1.42 mile marker be named in honor of Evans.

A native of Lawrence County, Evans grew up in Decatur Township. He entered the military in 1983 when he joined the 216th Engineer Battalion, Ohio National Guard, serving as an enlisted man and non-commissioned officer for seven years. Then he earned a commission from officer candidate school.

In a military career that has spanned almost three decades, Evans has been awarded the Bronze Star, the Meritorious Service Medal, Army Commendation Medal, Global War on Terror Service, Humanitarian Service Medal and Combat Action Badge. He successfully led a 600-person engineer battalion in combat operations in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

He completed more than 350 missions and 500 combat patrols.

He recently retired as facilities management branch chief for the Ohio Army National Guard. He also lead the first full battalion of the Ohio Army National Guard to be sent to war since the Korean Conflict.