Early last month, we shared that the Senate has approved the bill that will rename a bridge in Exeter in fallen SEAL Daniel Healy’s memory.

Now, the date for the dedication ceremony has been set, and family and friends are raising funds for the event. It has been scheduled on July 19; two days after what would have been Healy’s 41st birthday. The bridge is over Route 101 between Stratham and Exeter. The ceremony will be held at 5 pm, and will also include the naming of the Exeter town pool in Healy’s honor. The town pool is the venue for the ceremony. A granite monument is currently being created near the town pool, donated by family and friends.

Healy’s family hopes to raise $5,000 which will be used to cover costs for the signage that will be placed on the highway for the bridge and the pool. Whatever amount that will be raised in excess of the cost of the signage will be used to cover the airfare of Healy’s four children so that they can attend the ceremony. The children currently live in Hawaii and California.

U.S. Navy SEAL Daniel Healy was killed on June 28, 2005, when the MH-47 Chinook helicopter that he was in was shot down over Afghanistan. They were on a mission to rescue a reconnaissance team. That day, nineteen soldiers were killed, 11 of them Navy SEALs.

Buck Buchanan, a former Marine from Washington state who met when Healy traveled to Washington for training, is extending a helping hand with the fund raising by spreading the word around in the West regarding the effort to raise funds for Healy’s memorial.

Those who wish to make donations can make checks payable to The Daniel Healy Memorial Fund and take them to the local Citizen’s Bank.