CLEVELAND — A bill to dedicate a portion of State Route 44 in honor of a U.S. Marine from Lake County who was fatally shot at Camp Lejeune last year was passed unanimously Tuesday by the Ohio House Transportation Committee.
House Bill 350 would name a stretch of the state highway between Mentor Avenue and Prouty Road as Lance Corporal Austin B. Schwenk Memorial Highway. The bill will next be voted on by the state House of Representatives.
“I am hopeful that the General Assembly will support this effort by Rep. Callender and myself to honor the memory of Lance Corporal Schwenk for his service to our nation so tragically cut short,” said State Rep. Daniel Troy (D-Wickliffe), who is a primary sponsor of the bill alongside Rep. Jamie Callender (R-Concord).
Lance Cpl. Austin B. Schwenk was an electro-optical ordnance repairer in the U.S. Marine Corps. He was fatally shot in a barracks room at the Camp Lejeune training base in October 2023 in an incident investigators ruled as a homicide. He was 19 years old.
Schwenk graduated from Riverside High School in Painesville in 2022. A statement from Callender's office said Schwenk is "remembered as an avid athlete, lover of cars, and someone who always dreamed of joining the United States Marine Corps."
“Lance Corporal Schwenk was a proud son of Lake County who stepped up to answer the call of his country,” Rep. Callender said. “Dedicating part of State Route 44 is a fitting memorial to his courage and commitment to serve others.”
Schwenk's mother, Kaci Christison, said her family is touched by the gesture.
"Considering he drove that stretch of 44 almost daily, it's pretty meaningful," she said.
Kaci says the grief of losing her son has been devastating. But she wants to live life the way Austin did. It's a gift he gave to her for 19 years.
"He was such a good kid. He really was huge heart, just loved everything that he put his heart and soul into," she said.
A fellow Marine was taken into custody at the time of Schwenk's death and the incident remains under investigation by the Naval Criminal Investigative Service.
On Thursday, the NCIS provided this update on the investigation to 3News:
"Out of respect for the investigative process, NCIS will not comment further while the investigation remains ongoing. NCIS considers investigations ongoing until the adjudication phase has concluded, after which time you may file a Freedom of Information Act request with NCIS for any releasable investigative files. Please refer any prosecution-related queries to the Navy Office of the Judge Advocate General."