LIMA — For the people who loved and cared for Capt. Dennis Pintor, a highway memorial sign in his honor was the least that could be done to make sure everyone remembers the ultimate sacrifice he made for his country, his life.
Pintor was honored Monday with a section of highway dedicated in a memorial to him. Signs in his honor to indicate the section of the highway were installed later in the day.
Pintor, 30, a 1992 Elida High School graduate, was killed Oct. 12, 2004, while serving during Operation Iraqi Freedom when a roadside bomb detonated near his vehicle in Baghdad.
A similar ceremony was held for Army Cpl. Nathan Carse, for whom signs were installed earlier this year on state Route 309 between South Phillips Road and Peevee Road.
Carse, 32, of Harrod, and an Allen East High School graduate, was killed Feb. 8, 2011, in Kandahar Province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked his unit using a roadside bomb.
Ohio Senate President Keith Faber said the dedication ceremony for each man was a small token of appreciation that can be done to honor the men who defended the country with their lives.
“This is something small, the least we can do to recognize them,” Faber said.
Pintor’s Aunt Erlinda Lindawan said the family was grateful for the honor.
“As a Filipino American, I am very proud that one of the sons of a Filipino was being recognized for his service and his love for his country,” Lindawan said.
Elida school board member Pat Schymanski led the effort to dedicate part of Elida Road between Baty and Piquad roads in memory of Pintor, who was his first captain on the Elida High School soccer team in 1989 when he began coaching.
“Dennis was a great captain. He wasn’t necessarily the best soccer player or the best student but he had this great magnetism about him that made him a great leader,” Schmanski said.
Pintor, a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy in West Point, N.Y., always looked out for others and paid close attention to the details, Schmanski said.
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