Operation Fallen Hero honors the men and women from Hawthorne who made the supreme sacrifice. This project began in 2011 by Mayor Richard Goldberg when he was approached by a friend of Vietnam War Marine Billy Dutches who wanted a street named after his friend. Mayor Goldberg agreed to ceremonial name a street in his honor: Kingston Avenue at the corner of Lincoln Avenue, and this tradition of naming streets in honor of our servicemen and servicewoman.
Yearly on May 1, June 14 (Flag Day), and November 11 (Veteran’s Day), streets are named for these heroes. Hawthorne resident and Marine Paul Chepurko published a book Small Town-Big Sacrifice which tells the stories of those men and women. There are seventy-six stories of courage, valor, sacrifice and loss, and of those they left behind.
In 2022 Mayor John V. Lane has continued this tradition, and this will continue until all of those who died in service to their country will be so honored.