CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) — A soldier killed in Kenya earlier this year was memorialized on Saturday with an honorary street sign in Englewood on the South Side.
A light rain fell as relatives and Alderman Stephanie Coleman unveiled the sign at the corner of 57th and Laflin streets honoring Army Specialist Henry "Mitch" Mayfield Jr.
The 23-year-old was killed in a terrorist attack on a military airfield in Kenya in January.
The fallen soldier's father, Henry Mayfield Sr., clutched a copy of the sign as he said it touched his heart that his namesake will forever be part of the neighborhood.
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The block was home to Mayfield’s family for half a century and now the younger Mayfield will serve as guardian to those still living there, his uncle Rick Johnson told WBBM.
Johnson described his nephew as a great kid who was full of joy and smart.
Dozens of people came out for the ceremony, many wearing white sweatshirts with Mayfield’s picture on them.
A street sign honoring the soldier also hangs in Hazel Crest, where his family currently lives.