STAFF SERGEANT DUANE J. DREASKY
MEMORIAL HIGHWAY
House Bill 5725 as enacted
Public Act 547 of 2018
Sponsor: Rep. Tom Barrett
House Committee: Transportation and Infrastructure
Senate Committee: Transportation
Complete to 2-7-19
SUMMARY:
House Bill 5725 amends the Michigan Memorial Highway Act to designate the portion of highway M-5 between the intersection with 13 Mile Road and the intersection with 14 Mile Road in the city of Novi as the “Staff Sergeant Duane J. Dreasky Memorial Highway.”
MCL 250.2081
BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
Duane J. Dreasky, 31 of Novi, Michigan, died on July 10, 2006, in the Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas, of injuries sustained when an improvised explosive device detonated near his HMMWV in al-Habbaniyah, Iraq, on November 2, 2005.
Since he was a child, Duane had a desire to become a soldier. His loved ones said “he was born to be a soldier” and report that he wore fatigues to school. He enjoyed studying military history and was an athlete, playing high school football at Walled Lake. Although sports-related knee problems delayed his entry into the military, Duane was finally able to join the Army National Guard in June of 2003 and was assigned to the Army National Guard’s 1st Battalion, 119th Field Artillery, based in Lansing, Michigan. After deployment to Cuba, he became a full-time recruiter and shortly thereafter volunteered for deployment to Iraq.
On November 2, 2005, Capt. Anthony Dennis of Otisville, commander of Dreasky’s National Guard unit, was riding in the same Humvee patrol as Duane Dreasky. The patrol was to go through al-Habbaniyah and report on the “atmosphere” of the town and other observations to the commanders. After the bomb exploded, Capt. Dennis ran for help. He remembers that Dreasky was the “last guy evacuated.” Dreasky was airlifted from Iraq and ended up at an army burn center in San Antonio, where President George W. Bush toured and briefly visited him in January of 2006.
On July 10, 2006, nearly eight months after he was admitted to the burn center, Duane Dreasky of Novi, Michigan, died of his wounds. He was posthumously promoted to staff sergeant and received a Bronze Star Medal and Purple Heart. Dedicating a portion of M-5 in Novi to Staff Sergeant Duane Dreasky would recognize his sacrifice to our county, our state and honor his commitment to being “always ready, always there.”
FISCAL IMPACT:
Section 2 of the Michigan Memorial Highway Act indicates that the state transportation department shall provide for the erection of suitable markers indicating the name of the highway only “when sufficient private contributions are received to completely cover the cost of erecting and maintaining those markers.” As a result, the bill has no state or local fiscal impact.
Fiscal Analyst: William E. Hamilton
■ This analysis was prepared by nonpartisan House Fiscal Agency staff for use by House members in their deliberations, and does not constitute an official statement of legislative intent.