U.S. Highway 36 is one step closer to becoming a permanent memorial to Chief Warrant Officer Matthew Kelley.

Mr. Kelley, of Osborn, died Jan. 26 in a helicopter crash in northern Iraq. Mr. Kelley, a 30-year-old pilot who served in the 10th Combat Aviation Brigade, 10th Mountain Division, and three other American troops died in the collision. The Army recently released that enemy fire caused the crash and that Mr. Kelley is set to receive the Purple Heart posthumously.

HB 867 from State Rep. Jim Guest, R-King City, would designate the roughly six miles of highway between Cameron and Osborn the “CW2 Matthew G. Kelley Memorial Highway.”

The Missouri House of Representatives this week voted to pass the bill, which now goes to the Senate for consideration.