A busy Douglasville road is being renamed this week to honor a 21-year-old Marine killed in Afghanistan. Lance Cpl. Scott Harper was killed last October as he successfully saved the life of a fellow Marine.
Harper was still in high school when he came to Arbor Place Mall in Douglasville to sign up for the Marines in the recruiting office.
Three years later, on October 13, 2011, Harper was in the Afghanistan warzone.
"It was one of his good friends who had been shot first. Scott ran out in the middle of a fire fight to get his shot-up friend back to safety. And in the process of that, he lost his own life," said Brian Harper, Scott's father.
Scott Harper was awarded the Purple Heart after his death.
In many ways, his father's home is a shrine to his heroism. But Brian Harper's journey to make sure people don't forget about his son is now going down a different road: Douglas Boulevard.
In just a matter of weeks, an idea Harper had kicked around to rename the road after his son went from making a pitch to a county leader who he ran into at a restaurant, to having Douglas County commissioners pass a resolution to rename the busy stretch of highway in honor of Scott Harper.
"It will just be what he deserves. He deserves all the recognition that he can get for being the Marine that he was. A lot of his buddies tell me they've never met a more braver, courageous man than Scott," said Brian Harper.
The honorary name change goes into effect this week. Special signs will go in place next month.
Saturday, May 25 2013 5:03 PM EDT2013-05-25 21:03:38 GMT
Three people remain at an Atlanta hospital a day after they were injured aboard a hotel shuttle bus that crashed with a tractor-trailer near the city's airport.
Three people remain at an Atlanta hospital a day after they were injured aboard a hotel shuttle bus that crashed with a tractor-trailer near the city's airport.
Saturday, May 25 2013 4:19 PM EDT2013-05-25 20:19:38 GMT
Georgia stands to lose $1.8 million in funding because state officials refuse to participate in a federal survey that asks high school and middle school students about their sexual history.
Georgia stands to lose $1.8 million in funding because state officials refuse to participate in a federal survey that asks high school and middle school students about their sexual history.
