State Rep. Dave Prestin yesterday secured committee passage of his House Bill 4351, which would designate a stretch of U.S. Highway 41 in Menominee County as the Specialist David Anthony Wilkey Jr. Memorial Highway. An improvised explosive device killed Wilkey in the line of duty while serving in Baghdad on June 18, 2007. At the age of 22, Wilkey answered the call to serve his country, deploying to Iraq with the 1st Infantry Division. After his tragic death, he was awarded the Bronze Star and the Purple Heart in recognition of his bravery and sacrifice. The section of U.S. 41 that Prestin is working to rename in Wilkey’s honor is located just south of Powers in Spalding Township, the community where Wilkey grew up.