Portion of Mentor roadway named after Marine in 'Mentor 7' killed in Iraq in 2006

MENTOR, Ohio - A portion of a major roadway in Mentor was named after a local Marine killed during combat in Iraq in 2006.

At Tuesday night's Mentor City Council meeting, signs naming a section of State Route 84 – between Chillicothe Road and State Route 306 – "Sgt. Mark Smykowski Memorial Highway" were shown to the public during a special ceremony recognizing Smykowski. Replica signs were presented to the Marine's family.

Mentor Patch, which also provided photos of the signs , reported that Smykowski's mom, Diana Ross, his dad, Hubert Smykowski and his brothers Darren and Kenny Smykowski were all at the meeting.

Sgt. Smykowski was known as one of the "Mentor 7" – a group of seven friends who signed up for the armed forces following the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. The 23-year-old was killed in June 2006 when an armored Humvee drove by a roadside bomb.

Two state representatives who spearheaded the renaming of the highway, Rep. Ron Young and Rep. Kenneth Yuko, also attended the event, as well as State Sen. John Eklund.

At the beginning of the meeting, city council played a video of the sign unveiling event, which was held Aug. 30.