A stretch of the new Burkart Boulevard bypass that will run through the Freeman Field Industrial Park will honor a Seymour man who dedicated his life to serving his country, state and community.
Once completed in 2022, the road will carry the honorary name of CWO Michael T. Jordan Veterans Way. CWO stands for chief warrant officer.
Seymour Airport Authority member Scott Davis proposed the honorary renaming of the road to recognize Jordan and all veterans during a meeting Monday. The board voted in unanimous agreement on Davis’ motion.
“We would have signs made and present them during a prior unveiling to the family, and that way, when the project is completed, we can go ahead and post those signs,” Davis said.
Airport Authority President Brian Thompson said the Seymour Department of Public Works could make the signs, which would be similar to ones on U.S. 50 honoring the lives of three police officers killed in the line of duty.
Jordan died Sept. 4, 2019, at the age of 75 after a battle with pancreatic cancer.
He devoted 40 years of service to the Indiana National Guard and received the Sagamore of the Wabash award, the state’s highest honor bestowed to a civilian for distinguished service, not once, not twice but three times.
Jordan was a staunch supporter of Freeman Municipal Airport and was instrumental in bringing the Indiana National Guard to the airport in 1999 for a full-scale military war training exercise.
To this day, the airport continues to be a training site for the Indiana National Guard.
“I think we are in a unique position to recognize the military use of Freeman Field,” Davis said.
Jordan also supported the Freeman Army Airfield Museum by serving on its board of directors.
Besides his military career, Jordan dedicated 32 years of his life to serving on the Seymour City Council. For 20 years, he fulfilled the role of president of the council.
Some of his other civic involvements included the Seymour Redevelopment Commission, which he led as the board’s first president, Seymour Plan Commission, Seymour Board of Public Works and Safety, the first president of the Jackson County Public Defender Board and 15 years on the Indiana Water Pollution Control Board.
“With Mike’s public service in the military and his service on city council, I think it would be an appropriate location to recognize one of Seymour’s own,” Davis said.