A bill dedicating part of Austin's Airport Boulevard to longtime Austinite and World War II veteran Richard Overton is awaiting approval from Gov. Greg Abbott. The measure passed the Texas Senate late last week, on what would have been the 113th birthday of the man who was once known as America's oldest veteran.
No street signs will be changed if the legislation is signed into law by the governor. Instead, markers would be added along Airport from Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard to Levander Loop, ending about a mile away from Overton's home, where he lived since 1945, on Hamilton Avenue in East Austin.
His street was symbolically named Richard Overton Avenue in 2017 by the city. Overton died last year at the age of 112.
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"Our community is proud to have known Mr. Overton for such a great length of time, where he could always be found on his porch ready to talk with anyone on their way through," said state Rep. Sheryl Cole, the bill's author, in February when she introduced the bill. " ... I am proud to do what I can to honor this local legend."
House Bill 1821 was sent to the governor's desk Tuesday after it was signed in both the Texas House and Senate.
