GREENUP, Ky. — Local and state officials joined with family members and friends of fallen soldier Jeremy Gullett on a rainy, late afternoon Thursday for a ceremony honoring his life and thanking him for his sacrifice in defense of freedom.

Gullett, who was active in the Greenup County High School Junior ROTC, was one of two soldiers killed May 7, 2008, when their vehicle struck a roadside bomb in Afghanistan. He had been deployed to Afghanistan as part of Operation Enduring Freedom just two months earlier. Thursday would have marked his 24th birthday.

The bridge carrying Ky. 2 across the Little Sandy River four miles south of Greenup was designated as the Specialist Jeremy R. Gullett Memorial Bridge.

His parents, Cheryl and Harold Gullett, and his brother and sister, Chester Gullett and Jenny Kouns, unveiled road signs that had been temporarily erected on a small stage inside the three-bay Little Sandy Volunteer Fire Department building, where a crowd approaching 200 gathered out of the light rainfall.

Also taking part was Gullett’s widow, Janeth; his grandmother, Dianna Dillow and his great aunt Carol Fryman of Greensburg, Ky.

Following the ceremony at the firehouse, Kentucky Department of Highways District 9 crews installed the new signs at either end of the bridge.

State Transportation Secretary Joe Prather said the official naming of a roadway or structure of the state happens only once.

“It is a task taken very seriously within our cabinet, a task of the most solemn nature, for it is a tribute that will stand the test of time,” Prather said. “And we are humbled to play a part in such an honor.”

The ceremony and dedication were originally scheduled for 5:30 p.m. at the bridge, but State Rep. Tanya Pullin, D-South Shore, (98th House District) whose legislation called for the naming of the bridge and who served as master of ceremonies, decided to move it to the firehouse, about a third of a mile away, rather than have people stand out in the rain.

“This young man, this young husband, father, son, brother and firefighter, gave his life in service to his country,” Pullin said. “We shall not forget his sacrifice, nor the sacrifice of his family.”

Nine members of Gullett’s division, the 101st Airborne Division, who were serving with him on that day just over a year ago when he was killed, stood in formation to one side of the speakers stage. They had finished their latest deployment to the Middle East and came across state from their home base at Ft. Campbell, Ky., for the dedication.

One of them, Staff Sgt. Eric Powell, said Gullett “was one of us. We served with him. He was a good, dependable man, a good family man. A good soldier. We wanted to be here for him.”

Command Sgt.-Maj. Paul Royster, of the 201st Engineering Battalion in Ashland, said he and others from the battalion went into Afghanistan the same week Gullett was killed. The news of a Greenup County soldier getting killed made the situation “very real for us, real fast,” he said.

Gullett was a member of the Little Sandy Fire Department. His relative, Ronald Gullett, chief of the department, said, “I first knew him as just another good Greenup County boy. Now I know him as my hero.”

“We must never forget that we owe our freedom to those like Jeremy, who have given their last breath serving a greater cause,” said Col. Mark Needham, executive director of the Kentucky Commission on Military Affairs, who gave the keynote address.

Needham read an e-mail on his cell phone from Capt. Phillip Ealy, Gullett’s former commander in Korea, where Gullett served two years before being deployed to Afghanistan. “This young man was solid to the core,” Ealy wrote.

Needham also shared a message from Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear. “Young men like Jeremy Gullett are the reason America is great,” the governor wrote.

Ernie West of Wurtland, who was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for his heroics while serving as a soldier in the Korean War, said it was “a great honor for this bridge to be named after him. We need to pay homage to him, as well as to those who are serving our country now.”

Greenup Mayor Donna Hewlett said she was honored to attend the dedication service. “”I have nothing but honor and respect for this young man. I’m thankful for the chance to say ‘thank you’ in this way. He will always be in our hearts.”

Her husband, Michael, commander of American Legion Post 43 in Raceland, said, “Young men like Jeremy are what America is built on. They not only defend the rights of America, but of the free world. This young man gave the ultimate.”

“Oh, but I hate it that we lost him, but this is a good day -- a day for us to be here for the sacrifice that he made. It’s so pleasing to have so many people from the state, county and communities be here for this,” said Greenup County Commissioner Tony Quillen.

“Jeremy was interested in the military from a young age,” said his mother, Cheryl. “He was only 9, I remember, when he wrote a special paper about his papaw Maxwell, who was in the military.”

County Judge-Executive Bobby Carpenter said he knows all of the Gullett family. “So very many people thought a lot of Jeremy,” Carpenter said.

Singers David Bradbury, David Gray and Sue Gray, who drove a school bus Gullett rode as an elementary student, sang a song, “If I Die Before You Wake,” written especially for Gullett.

“He was not just my brother,” said Gullett’s sister, Jenny. “He was our hero. And we miss him very, very much.”

G. SAM PIATT can be reached at (740) 353-3101, ext. 236.