Senate Concurrent Resolution
No. 68
CHAPTER 17
Relative to the United States Army Sergeant Thomas R. MacPherson Memorial Interchange.
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Filed with
Secretary of State
June 11, 2020.
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LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SCR 68, Archuleta.
United States Army Sergeant Thomas R. MacPherson Memorial Interchange.
This measure would designate the interchange of Interstate 605 and Katella Avenue in the County of Orange as the United States Army Sergeant Thomas R. MacPherson Memorial Interchange. The measure would request the Department of Transportation to determine the cost for appropriate signs showing this special designation and, upon receiving donations from those nonstate sources covering that cost, to erect those signs.
Digest Key
Fiscal Committee:
YES WHEREAS, Thomas R. MacPherson was born July 20, 1986, in Long Beach, California, and later graduated from Los Alamitos High School; and
WHEREAS, He enlisted in the United States Army in May 2007 and completed One Station Unit Training at Fort Benning in Georgia, as an infantryman; and
WHEREAS, After graduating from the Basic Airborne Course at Fort Benning, he was assigned to the Ranger Assessment and Selection Program; and
WHEREAS, Sergeant MacPherson graduated from the Ranger Assessment and Selection Program and was then assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 2nd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment in December 2007, where he served as a mortarman; and
WHEREAS, After three years, he was a fire team leader assigned to Company D, 2nd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington; and
WHEREAS, His military education includes the Basic Airborne Course, the Ranger Assessment and Selection Program, United States Army Ranger School, the Infantry Mortar Leader’s Course, the Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape Course, and the Warrior Leader Course; and
WHEREAS, Sergeant MacPherson’s awards and decorations include the Ranger Tab, the Combat Infantrymans Badge, the Expert Infantrymans Badge, the Parachutist Badge, and the United States Army Expert Rifle Marksmanship Qualification Badge; and
WHEREAS, He has also been awarded the Bronze Star Medal with Valor, the Army Commendation Medal, the Army Achievement Medal, the Army Good Conduct Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, the Afghanistan Campaign Medal with three Campaign Stars, the Iraq Campaign Medal with Campaign Star, the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, the Army Service Ribbon, the Overseas Service Ribbon, and the NATO Medal; and
WHEREAS, Sergeant MacPherson previously served one deployment to Iraq and was on his fourth deployment to Afghanistan when, at 26 years of age, he was killed by enemy forces during a heavy firefight while conducting combat operations in the Andar District of Ghazni Province; and
WHEREAS, Sergeant MacPherson was leading an assault against an enemy position when he was mortally wounded by small arms fire; and
WHEREAS, He was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star Medal, the Meritorious Service Medal, and the Purple Heart; and
WHEREAS, As a Ranger, Sergeant Thomas R. MacPherson selflessly lived his life for others and distinguished himself as a member of the United States Army’s premier direct action raid force and fought valiantly as he served his fellow Rangers and our great Nation; now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the Senate of the State of California, the Assembly thereof concurring, That the Legislature designates the interchange of Interstate 605 and Katella Avenue in the County of Orange as the United States Army Sergeant Thomas R. MacPherson Memorial Interchange; and be it further
Resolved, That the Department of Transportation is requested to determine the cost of appropriate signs, consistent with the signing requirements for the state highway system, showing this special designation and, upon receiving donations from nonstate sources sufficient to cover the cost, to erect those signs; and be it further
Resolved, That the Secretary of the Senate transmit copies of this resolution to the Department of Transportation and to the author for appropriate distribution.