HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 108

(By Delegates Canestraro, Fluharty, Zukoff, Storch, McGeehan, Diserio, Pethtel and Swartzmiller)

[Introduced February 25, 2020 ]

Requesting the Division of Highways name that portion of WV Route 2 beginning at milepost 19.50 and ending at milepost 19.53 in Marshall County the “U. S. Navy PO3 Heath “Scrappy” Shilling Memorial Road”.

Whereas, U.S. Navy Petty Officer 3rd Class Heath “Scrappy” Shilling was born on December 13, 1979, in Glen Dale, West Virginia to Don and Rosa Shilling; and

Whereas, Petty Officer Shilling graduated from Moundsville’s John Marshall High School in 1998 where he ran track, played football and was a member of the pole-vaulting team. He also played American Legion baseball; and

Whereas, Petty Officer Shilling joined the U.S. Navy in August 1998. Following boot camp in Great Lakes, Illinois, he was stationed in Pensacola, Florida for training to become an aviation mechanic with a specialty in hydraulic systems. Petty Officer Shilling was initially assigned to Helicopter Squadron Four in Norfolk, Virginia, and was placed at the Aircraft Intermediate Maintenance Department. While there he was on the department’s baseball team and played numerous other Navy teams as well as teams from the other service branches; and

Whereas, Petty Officer Shilling was always going out of his way to help others. During an evening downpour in Virginia he came upon a fellow sailor whose truck had broken down. Petty Officer Shilling not only stopped to help, but after assessing the situation determined what was wrong, got the part and returned to repair the truck. Another time Petty Officer Shilling discovered an elderly couple alongside an interstate highway whose car had run out of gas. As he always carried a spare can of fuel, he was able to get them back on the road, and followed them to the nearest gas station to make sure they safely made it there; and

Whereas, Having already been selected as a Junior Sailor of the Quarter for the Norfolk Naval Air Station, Petty Officer Shilling was again in the running for that honor when, on July 15, 2001, as he was returning to his off-base apartment in Chesapeake, Virginia he died in a motorcycle accident. His body was interred on July 21, 2001, at the Riverview Cemetery in Moundsville with full military honors; and

Whereas, It is a fitting tribute to U.S. Navy Petty Officer 3rd Class Heath “Scrappy” Shilling that this stretch of road be named for him and his contribution to his country and community; therefore, be it

Resolved by the Legislature of West Virginia:

That the Division of Highways is hereby requested to name that portion of WV Route 2 beginning at milepost 19.50 and ending at milepost 19.53 in Marshall County the “U. S. Navy PO3 Heath “Scrappy” Shilling Memorial Road”; and, be it

Further Resolved, That the Division of Highways is hereby requested to have made and be placed signs identifying the road as the “U. S. Navy PO3 Heath “Scrappy” Shilling Memorial Road”; and, be it

Further Resolved, That the Clerk of the House forward a copy of this resolution to the Commissioner of the Division of Highways.