Roadway dedication honors fallen soldier
James E. Groves III died in Afghanistanmore than seven years ago.
A portion of Ohio KETTERING—
48 was dedicated Wednesday in honor of a Kettering soldierwho died in Afghanistan more than seven years ago.
The stretch of the state route — also called Far Hills Avenue — from Dorothy Lane to Stroop Road is named for U.S. Army Chief Warrant Officer James E. Groves III, according to the city of Kettering.
OhioHouse Bill 276was signed into law March 4 dedicating a portion of Ohio 48, in honor of Groves, according to the city.
Groves was 37 and serving in Kandahar on March 16, 2013. The Kettering Fairmont High School grad was piloting a helicopter when it crashed, officials said at that time.
Mechanical failure was suspected inthecrash, which another soldierwhowas aboard survived, military officials said.
Groves had previously served two tours in Iraq. According to the Department of Defense, he was assigned to 3rd Squadron, 17th Cavalry Regiment, 3rd CombatAviation Brigade, 3rd Infantry
Division, Hunter Army Airfield.
Groves enlisted in the Army after commencement in June 1994 and was nearing the end of his second tour in Afghanistan, following two in Iraq.
His family said he was buried at Arlington National Cemetery, where he visited in the fall of 2012 while inWashington, D.C., that year to run theMarine Corps Marathon.
Groveswas a Columbus native whomoved to Kettering in 1978. While attending Fairmont, one of his assignments for the student television station was to interview military recruiters.