HARRISBURG, Oct. 22, 2013 – Sen. Judy Schwank’s proposal to name Route 662 in Ruscombmanor Township, Berks County, as the “Chief Warrant Officer-2 Jarett M. Yoder Highway” won the Senate’s unanimous approval today.
House Bill 925, because it was amended in the Senate, returns to the House for its consideration and expected approval.
“We moved one important step closer to naming this stretch of highway for a young but patriotic soldier who paid the ultimate sacrifice as a member of the 1-104th Attack Reconnaissance Battalion of the Pennsylvania Army National Guard,” Schwank said following the Senate’s approval of the legislation.
Yoder, a 26-year-old graduate of Oley Valley High School, died this past April in Afghanistan when his Apache helicopter crashed in Nangarhar Province.
The stretch of Route 662 to be named the “Jarett M. Yoder Highway” is in Ruscombmanor Township, between Fleetwood Borough and Oley Township.
After he died, the 11th Senatorial District resident was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star, Air Medal, and NATO Medal for his service in Afghanistan. He also received the Combat Infantryman Badge, Combat Action Badge, the Afghanistan Campaign Medal with one bronze star, and the Iraq Campaign Medal with one bronze star.
When Yoder died, he was serving his second deployment since enlisting in the National Guard in 2005, which is the year he graduated from high school.
The chief warrant officer was married to Heather Garay-Yoder and was the son of Diane and Gary Yoder.
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