BEND, Ore. — A long-anticipated effort to honor the nation’s most distinguished military service members is becoming a reality along Highway 20 in Oregon. The Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) is preparing to install new signage designating the route as the National Medal of Honor Highway, replacing current signs that read “Oregon Medal of Honor Highway.”
The change follows federal legislation signed into law by President Joe Biden in December, officially designating the entirety of U.S. Highway 20—from Newport, Oregon, to Massachusetts—as the National Medal of Honor Highway. Previously, the highway held similar designations in each of the 12 states it crosses, but this law unifies them under one national title.
The initiative was championed by Bend veteran Dick Tobiason, chairman of the Bend Heroes Foundation, who has led the project for more than six years. According to Tobiason, Oregon currently has 12 Medal of Honor Highway signs, and six of them will be converted to reflect the new national designation. Two of the updated signs will be placed in Deschutes County, where the project has strong local roots.
“This has been a long journey,” Tobiason said. “We’re proud to finally see it through and honor these heroes properly across the entire nation.”
The origins of the project trace back to a personal promise Tobiason made to the late Bob Maxwell, a World War II Medal of Honor recipient and longtime Bend resident. Maxwell, who passed away in 2019 at the age of 98, was the nation’s oldest living Medal of Honor recipient at the time.
Tobiason and other supporters saw Highway 20—America’s longest continuous road—as a fitting tribute to those who have received the nation’s highest military decoration. The idea gained traction across multiple states and eventually received bipartisan support in Congress.
With the new signs set to be installed soon, the National Medal of Honor Highway now stands as a coast-to-coast salute to courage, sacrifice, and service.
