Spc. Zachary L. Shannon Memorial Highway Dedicated In Dunedin

DUNEDIN, FL — A Dunedin native who was killed at the age of 21 while deployed with the Army in Afghanistan during the Global War on Terrorism was remembered Monday when a portion of Alternate U.S. 19 in Dunedin was dedicated in his honor.

The dedication ceremony for the Spc. Zachary L. Shannon Memorial Highway took place Monday, Oct. 23 at 10 a.m. at the Dunedin Youth Guild Park, 2750 Bayshore Blvd., Dunedin.

With the approval of the Florida Legislature and the Florida Department of Transportation, a portion of Alternate U.S. 19/Bayshore Boulevard will bear the name of the young U.S. Army specialist.

Shannon was a graduate of Dunedin High School where he was involved in the JROTC program and enlisted in the Army in August 2010. He was quickly promoted to specialist and volunteered to deploy to Afghanistan to fight al Qaeda and its leader, Osama bin Laden, who claimed responsibility for the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.

On March 11, 2013, nearly two years after bin Laden was killed at his compound by U.S. Special Forces, Shannon was continuing to serve in Operation Enduring Freedom, assigned to the 4th Battalion, 3rd Aviation Regiment, 3rd Combat Aviation Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division based out of Hunter Army Airfield in Georgia.

Shannon and four fellow service members were on patrol and took off in a UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter from Kandahar, Afghanistan. The helicopter crashed, killing all five service members.

Shannon's body was flown to MacDill Air Force Base and, on March 24, 2013, a celebration of life attended by more than 500 people was held at the Dunedin VFW Post 2550.

At the urging of residents and the Dunedin VFW Post, state Rep. Adam Anderson filed House Bill 21 during the 2023 legislative session, a decade after the Army specialist's death, to rename the portion of Alternate U.S. 19/Bayshore Boulevard from Orange Street to Michigan Avenue in Dunedin.

The bill was overwhelmingly approved and signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis on May 30, effective July 1.

As part of the designation process, the Dunedin City Commission and Pinellas County Commission were required to pass ordinances supporting the road naming.

On July 18, the Pinellas County Commission adopted Resolution 23-47 and on Aug. 15, the Dunedin Commission adopted Resolution 23-16 supporting the honorary designation.

Monday's ceremony, organized by the Dunedin VFW Post, was to be attended by Anderson, state Sen. Ed Hooper, the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office and Dunedin Fire Rescue honor guards, retired U.S. Marine Corps captain the Rev. Robert Swick, Pinellas County Commissioner Dave Eggers, Dunedin's mayor and commissioners and members of Shannon's family, unveiled the memorial plaque commemorating the highway in Shannon's honor.

Following the ceremony, VFW Post 2550 led a procession from Dunedin Youth Guild Park down Edgewater Drive and Bayshore Boulevard to Post 2550 at 360 Douglas Ave., where a reception will be held.