There was a time Bernard F. Fisher pedaled his bike down U-193, delivering papers along the unpaved, gravel road.
Nobody called him a hero then, and he never dreamed the highway would one day bear his name.Fisher, now a 72-year-old retired Air Force colonel, was awarded the U.S. Air Force Medal of Honor in 1967 for piloting his plane down an airstrip in Vietnam a year earlier, saving the life of a downed U.S. airman who was under fire.
Saturday, Clearfield officials will honor Fisher again, naming the road where he once delivered papers the "Bernard Fisher Highway."
"That's just pretty neat. I think they're doing me too much justice," said Fisher from his farm in Kuna, Idaho. "It's quite an honor. I can't wait to be there."
Clearfield has planned a hometown welcome for Fisher, with dignitaries, speeches and a possible flyover by an F-16. He and his wife, Realla, plan to attend the ceremony scheduled to be held in the park that also bears his name.
Christino Casias, Clearfield, worked for a year with officials from Clearfield, Layton and the Utah Department of Transportation arranging the designation.
Casias, a military man himself, heard Fisher speak at Hill Air Force Base last year for the unveiling of the Air Force Medal of Honor Memorial. They shook hands and spoke only briefly, but it sparked Casias' interest and he wanted to see a real-life hero revered rather than sports and entertainment stars.