EL DORADO -- The Union County Quorum Court and El Dorado City Council have approved resolutions in support of renaming a portion of U.S. 82, from Timberlane Drive to the South Arkansas Regional Airport, after Benjamin and Jeremy Wise, two brothers from El Dorado who were killed in service to the country.
The endorsement will be forwarded to the Arkansas Highway Commission for its approval.
Born and raised in El Dorado and graduates of West Side Christian School, Jeremy and Benjamin Wise went on to join separate branches of the United States military as adults.
Jeremy Wise, who joined the Navy shortly after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and went on to become a SEAL and serve until 2009, died after leaving the service. He was killed by a suicide bomber on Dec. 30, 2009 while working as a CIA-security contractor in Khost, Afghanistan. He was 35 years old.
Benjamin Wise joined the Army in 2000 at the age of 23, going on to become a Green Beret. He died on Jan. 15, 2012, after suffering injuries during a small-arms fire attack in Balkh Province, Afghanistan six days earlier. He was 34.
Benjamin and Jeremy Wise are both survived by wives and children, as well as their parents, brother and sister.
District 3 Justice of the Peace Greg Harrison introduced the resolution to fellow Quorum Court members to rename the portion of the highway after the brothers.
He said that Sen. Trent Garner, R-El Dorado, had spoken with the Wise family about the matter.
"They're very appreciative of this dedication if it does come to pass," Harrison said.
Garner said the idea to rename the highway came to him while driving one day.
"Probably about a year ago, I was driving down the highway and I passed a bridge that was named after a vet, and it just happened to be at the time I heard the story of the two brave Wise brothers from Union County," he said. "The Wise brothers jumped out to me as someone we could recognize here in Union County."
Garner reached out to Beau Wise, Jeremy and Benjamin's brother, who also served as a Marine for a number of years, to propose the highway dedication. Eventually, the rest of Jeremy and Benjamin Wise's surviving family members signed off on the idea as well.
Garner hasn't met Beau Wise or the other members of the Wise family personally, he said; however, being a veteran himself, he said it's easy to relate to them.
"It's kind of like someone you don't know, but you do know them, because you're in a brotherhood with them," Garner said.
"I think the whole family is pretty excited," Beau Wise said "Everybody was excited to preserve Jeremy and Ben's memory. It's quite an honor for us."
Harrison said the only cost the county will be updating highway signage, and Garner said such re-dedications of highways are often privately funded through donations. The portion of the highway to be re-named would be called the Jeremy and Benjamin Wise Memorial Highway, should the matter be approved by the Arkansas State Highway Commission.
In a presentation to the El Dorado City Council earlier this month, member Dianne Hammond talked about her support to rename the westernmost section of West Hillsboro/U.S. 82-B, starting at Timberlane Drive, in honor of the Wise brothers.
Reading from a prepared statement, Hammond said, "Let me just say that the story of the Wise family isn't a story just known across our community but it captivated hearts from around the world."
She said the Wises called El Dorado home for numerous years and she was personally acquainted with the Wise family, noting that their families attended West Side Baptist Church and their children attended West Side Christian School together.
"It wasn't hard to miss those little blonde-headed kids as they roamed the halls of the building from church events to school ball games," Hammond said. "I have many memories of this special family and I'm sure others do too."
In another statement, Council Member Judy Ward recalled that Jeremy and Ben Wise often "knocked on my door to play with my son."
Ward grew emotional as she encouraged local residents to purchase a memoir written by brother Beau Wise, also a military serviceman, and journalist Tom Sileo.
The book -- Three Wise Men: A Memoir of Family, Service and Sacrifice -- details the brothers' bond, upbringing, military service and sacrifice, under the heading, A Navy Seal, a Green Beret and How Their Marine Brother Became a War's Sole Survivor.
Through tears, Ward said the book is poignant, noting that she can only read snippets at a time before having to put the book down and collect herself.
The Arkansas Highway Commission will next meet on Feb. 3. The meeting will be live-streamed at https://www.myarkansaspbs.org/arcan.