ANNAPOLIS, Md. – The Rowe Boulevard bridge over Weems Creek in Annapolis will be dedicated this month to Patrick Feeks, a Navy SEAL from Edgewater killed in Afghanistan two years ago.
Petty Officer 1st Class Patrick Feeks, 28, died Aug. 16, 2012, in a helicopter crash during a firefight with insurgents northeast of Kandahar. He was one of seven Americans and four Afghans killed in the crash.
A 2002 South River High School graduate, Feeks was with a West Coast-based SEAL unit for four years and served two tours of duty in Iraq before going to Afghanistan.
Signs honoring Feeks will be placed along both sides of the bridge, which leads to the State House.
"The thing that means the most to us is knowing that our son won't be forgotten," said Virginia Feeks, Patrick's mother. "That would be the hardest thing to think — that your son, who gave his life for his country, would be forgotten."
A private dedication ceremony will be held Sept. 28 for the Feeks family and friends, as well as state and military officials. The bridge will remain open during the ceremony.
Annapolis-based Connected Warrior Foundation is organizing the ceremony and members of the nonprofit sought approval from the state Department of Transportation to dedicate the bridge to Feeks.
Connected Warrior works to provide wounded veterans with computer tablets to stay connected to their families.
Virginia Feeks said her family are thankful for support from other veterans and families.
"Patrick impacted people, even though they didn't know him," she said. "That's what's important. That helps us sort of reconcile our loss."
Feeks was killed about three months after another Edgewater man was killed in Afghanistan.
Marine Sgt. Julian Chase, 22-years-old and an aspiring photographer, was killed Memorial Day 2012 while fighting in the Taliban stronghold of southern Afghanistan.
Thirteen other Anne Arundel County men have died from wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
