Stark County road dedicated to Sgt. Vernon Judd, who died in N. Korean prison camp in 1951

BREWSTER ‒ More than 71 years after Army Sgt. Vernon Judd died in a North Korean prison camp, family members and government officials have dedicated a mile stretch of road near his former Sugar Creek Township home in his memory.

About two dozen people gathered Friday afternoon around a brown highway road sign installed at the edge of the front yard of Judd's great niece, Candi Leeman, whose maternal grandmother was Judd's sister. The sign, which is just within the limits on Elton Street SW west of state Route 93 reads, "Army Sgt. Vernon R. Judd Memorial Highway."

Below the sign on a wooden stand is a battlefield cross, which depicts a gun with a soldier's helmet placed into soldier's boots. One side of the stand says, "All gave some. Some gave all." The other side says, "Freedom is not free."

Leeman said her next-door neighbor Alan Revercomb, Sr., a Vietnam veteran and Marine, donated the battlefield cross.

More:Home at last

More:Korean War POW returning home

More:American Legion, KIA Honor Flag group pay tribute Sgt. Vernon Judd

"It's awesome. It's great for his sacrifice," said Judd's niece, Jennifer Judd, of Perry Township, whose father was Vernon Judd's brother. "People need to know what he went through."

Judd's nephew Ken Judd Jr., also of Perry Township, said, "This sign will be here long after we're gone. ... His memory will live on."

Jennifer Judd added, "There's a lot of Judds that grew up in this area. There's still Judds in this area. The family will pass this (sign) every day and know. And all the neighbors that know the story. ... It's a great tribute to him."

Lobbying effort to honor Sgt. Vernon Judd

Jennifer Judd said she began to lobby the office of State Rep. Bill Roemer, R-Richfield, to sponsor legislation declaring a mile of Elton Street SW or County Road 321 a memorial highway to honor her uncle. Roemer under the district map that ends this year represents Sugar Creek Township.

Her effort began about two years after her uncle's remains were returned to Ohio in 2019 with that of 54 other lost service members from the Korean War as part of an agreement with North Korea the prior year. Sgt. Judd's remains were identified with the help of DNA samples provided by his family members. He was declared missing in action at age 22 in November 1950, received a full funeral with military honors and his remains were laid to rest at Ohio Western Reserve National Cemetery. Sgt. Judd had no children but had nine siblings whose descendants in the Stark County area number in the hundreds.

Sgt. Judd's younger brother, Ken Judd, Sr., the father of Jennifer and Ken, died in 2020.

Roemer's memorial highway language was incorporated into a larger bill, House Bill 291, designating several memorial highways. The Ohio General Assembly approved the bill into law in April. It took effect in late July.

Under the language of the bill, the half-mile stretch of Elton west of Muffly Avenue and the half-mile stretch of Elton Street SW east of Muffly Avenue was renamed. Workers for the Stark County Engineer's office also installed a second memorial highway sign in Sugar Creek Township on Elton Street about a half mile west of Muffly facing west by the eastbound lane.

Family members say that sign is on the other side of Elton from the home of a great-nephew of Sgt. Judd. The other sign in Candi Leeman's yard is by the westbound lane of Elton about a half mile east of Muffly.

"The story behind Sgt. Judd is utterly amazing," Rep. Roemer said at the event. "The fact that he volunteered. That he was a sergeant. Went over to Korea. Was captured. Was held in a prison camp. And for over 50 years, the family had to wait until the ashes were returned is a magnificent story. The fact that he really sacrificed his life to protect our freedoms. I can not appreciate any more."

State Sen. Kristina Roegner, R-Hudson, who also represents Sugar Creek Township until the end of this year, championed the memorial highway measure in the Senate and also attended the event.

"I can't begin to imagine what (Sgt. Judd) endured," Roegner said, acknowledging that thousands of American families still don't have closure on what happened to their missing service members in Korea. "And so this is absolutely a small tribute. But a fitting tribute in the state of Ohio to recognize that sacrifice that he made. And again I want to thank each and every one of you for being here, for the sacrifice that your family made over a generation ago. ... I can't imagine what that must feel like for the family to have closure like that."

Judd, called "Bo-Bo" by his family, grew up in a home on Muffly south of Elton Street in the unincorporated community of Elton in Sugar Creek Township. The area is in Amish Country and several Amish buggies passed Judd's highway sign during Friday's dedication.

Reaction from Judd family members and others

Bill Moder, 84, of Sugar Creek Township, said when he was 8 years old his uncle Bo-Bo got an Amish buggy and converted into a wagon that he could ride down a hill, guiding it with a rope. And he remembered his uncle giving rides in his scooter to many of the kids in the neighborhood.

Glenn Fahrni Jr., another nephew of Sgt. Judd, said in 1968, his mother gave two Army blankets for him to place in his car that she said she had gotten from Sgt. Judd. Fahrni said he kept the two blankets for decades in all his vehicles. One of them was buried with his uncle's remains in 2019. Fahrni still has the other blanket in his car.

Besides Roemer and Roegner, Brewster Council Member David Godwin; Sugar Creek Township Trustee William Burtt and Brewster Clerk-Treasurer Kris King were among the officials who attended.

According to a Ohio Legislative Service Commission fiscal note, each set of two memorial highway signs costs the state $500 and don't typically need to be replaced for 12 to 15 years. Because Elton Street SW is a Stark County road, the Stark County's engineer's office erected the signs.

Reach Robert at robert.wang@cantonrep.com. On Twitter: @rwangREP.

This article originally appeared on The Repository: Army Sgt. Vernon Judd honored with road dedication in Brewster