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A section of Route 121 in Lewisboro will now be known as the “John Jay High School Veterans Memorial Highway” following a ceremony held at the school's front lawn on Saturday, May 25, New York State Sen. Pete Harckham and Assemblymember Chris Burdick announced.
The renaming honors the memory of four veterans who graduated from John Jay and died in service during the Vietnam War:
- Pfc. Kenneth Richard Jaconetti;
- Lt. Cmdr. George Russell Matthews;
- Pfc. Philip Grant Chipchase;
- Lance Cpl. Howard J. Alaimo.
The designation also honors two John Jay alumni who died in the 1983 Beirut barracks bombing:
- Cpl. James J. Jackwoski;
- Cpl. Bert D. Corcoran.
Harckham and Burdick originally introduced the legislation to rename the section of Route 121 in July 2023, which also calls for the state Department of Transportation to install and maintain signage regarding the designation, officials said.
The new designation follows efforts by Lewisboro Veterans Advisory Committee chair John Lemke and John Jay HS alumnus Grant Vialardi to put up a monument commemorating the six veterans at the high school.
"It is very appropriate to have the road in front of John Jay High School dedicated to these fallen heroes," Lemke said of the renaming, adding, "It’s important that the current John Jay students are aware of what these former students have sacrificed for their freedom.”
During the ceremony held to celebrate the destination, Lemke also revealed that a seventh John Jay High School alumnus was discovered to have died in service during Operation Just Cause in Panama in 1990: Pfc. Anthony Joseph Pettignano.
The section of Route 121 renamed by the legislation begins at the intersection of Route 35 and Old Post Road and ends at the intersection with Gideon Reynolds Road.
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