Gov Tina Kotek on Friday signed legislation to designate U.S. Highway 30 to honor families who have lost members in military service as Oregon Gold Star Families Memorial Highway.

The effort, which will include markers along the 477-mile route from Astoria to Ontario, was spearheaded by Dick Tobiason, a retired U.S. Army lieutenant colonel and Vietnam War veteran from Bend. He leads the Bend Heroes Foundation, which seeks recognition of those who have served in the military and veterans support today.

Tobiason is working to join groups and governments in the 11 states on the coast-to-coast route to honor the families of 620,000 U.S. service members killed in service. Estimates are 12 million families in the United States have lost a family member in military service.

U.S. Highway 30 runs 3,073 miles from its western terminus at the intersection of U.S. Highway 101 in Astoria next to the Pacific Ocean to the intersection of Adriatic Avenue, Virginia Avenue and Absecon Boulevard in Atlantic City, New Jersey, next to the Atlantic Ocean.

Gold Star families are those that have had a family member killed while serving in the U.S. military. An informal tradition began in World War I that families would hang a sash in their window with a blue star for each member serving in the war. If the family member was killed, a gold star was placed over the blue star. 

The tradition became more widespread during World War II and was codified into law, with what is now the Defense Department issuing guidelines on how to display the blue or gold star. 

Tobiason testified at a committee hearing in January in support of the bill. So did Steve Ellis of Baker City  His daughter, U.S. Army Cpl. Jessica Ellis, was killed on May 11, 2008 while serving in Iraq.

The number of Oregonians touched by America’s wars is surprising, Tobiason said.

“Almost one half million Oregonians have served in five major wars  since World War I –  6,000 made the ultimate sacrifice, 15,000 were wounded, nearly 2,000 became POWs and MIAs, and 29 veterans connected with Oregon received the Medal of Honor, our nation’s highest award for valor during war,” Tobiason testified.

The state, often working with Tobiason, has designated several portions of highways in the state to honor various veteran groups and casualties of war. The new highway salutes the families of the fallen.

Tobiason said supporters of the bill hoped to get Kotek to do a “ceremonial signing” of the bill somewhere along the Oregon portion of the highway. 

The bill signed by Kotek covers U.S. Highway 30, a federal highway, from where it intersects with U.S. Highway 101 in Astoria. The highway then runs east and southeast through Clatsop, Columbia and Multnomah counties. Cities it passes through include Westport, St. Helens and Scappoose before coming to Portland.

For most of the rest of its length east, it is concurrent with Interstate 84, which followed the earlier highway’s path. It runs through Hood River, Wasco, Sherman, Gilliam, Morrow, Umatilla, Union, Baker and Malheur counties. Some of the cities on the eastern portion of the route include Portland, The Dalles, Hermiston, Pendleton, La Grande and Baker City. Highway 30 crosses the Snake River into Idaho near Ontario.

Highway 30 was part of a federal highway building project approved in 1926. It joined together several existing highways. Portions of the route between The Dalles and Ontario trace the path of the Oregon Trail used by settlers in the 19th century. The current Interstate system was approved after World War II. A project from Ontario to Portland was approved, but federal officials declined Oregon requests to extend it all the way to Astoria.