Friends, family and State Sen. Busch were gathered for the dedication of Capt. Matthew Tomkiewicz Memorial Mile, named after the late Fort Wayne native who died in a 2022 training exercise overseas. Photo from Indiana Department of Transportation Northeast’s official Facebook post.

News Release

STATEHOUSE — A portion of SR 114 is now named in honor of fallen U.S. Marine Capt. Matthew Tomkiewicz of Fort Wayne, said State Sen. Justin Busch, R-Fort Wayne. Busch joined a ceremony alongside the Tomkiewicz family, friends and community members to celebrate and honor his life of service.

The late Capt. Matthew Tomkiewicz, wife Lauren and dog Kevin Bacon. Tomkiewicz passed away Friday, March 18, 2022 during a training flight in Norway.

Busch was proud to author Senate Concurrent Resolution 12 earlier this year, which urged the Indiana Department of Transportation to rename a 1-mile stretch of S.R. 114 along the Whitley-Huntington County line the “Captain Matthew Tomkiewicz Memorial Mile.”

“Today we had the honor of joining the loved ones of Captain Matthew Tomkiewicz and State Senator Justin Busch in a ceremony to celebrate the renaming of a stretch of S.R. 114 in Capt. Tomkiewicz’s memory,” INDOT announced in a social media post. “INDOT takes pride in Memorial Miles like this that give us a chance to honor and remember those who have dedicated their lives to serving our country, such as Capt. Tomkiewicz.”

In March 2022, Tomkiewicz and three other Marines were killed in the line of duty when their MV-22B Osprey aircraft crashed in mountainous terrain following difficult weather conditions in Norway during the biennial NATO Cold Response war exercise.