Portion of 101 Freeway might be named after 101st Airborne

The California Assembly has approved state Assemblyman Tony Strickland’s (R-Westlake Village) resolution to dedicate a portion of the 101 Freeway through Ventura County in honor of the U.S. Army’s historic 101st Airborne Division.

Assembly Concurrent Resolution No. 54 (ACR-54) passed on a 68-0 vote and now moves to the state Senate. The resolution would rename the thoroughfare in Ventura County from the Ventura Freeway to Screaming Eagles Highway and erect signs along the route denoting its dedication to the 101st Airborne Division. The signs would be funded by private sources.

Thousand Oaks resident Michael Mitrosky, who served with the 101st during the Vietnam War, proposed the idea. Through Mitrosky, the Southern California Chapter of the 101st Airborne Division Association will raise money to fund the signage, expected to cost about $3,000.

The 101st Division was formed in World War I. It was activated during World War II, when it was nicknamed the Screaming Eagles and became one of the Army’s first two airborne divisions.

Its soldiers parachuted into Normandy during D-Day and fought through the end of the war. The division was raised again after the Korean War and remained since, based in Fort Campbell, Ky. It fought in Vietnam and the Persian Gulf War, and is currently active in Iraq.