California Legislature—2015–16 Regular Session

Assembly Concurrent Resolution No. 54

Introduced by Assembly Member Wood

(Principal coauthor: Senator McGuire)

April 9, 2015

Assembly Concurrent Resolution No. 54—Relative to the Kevin R. Ebbert SO1 Navy SEAL Memorial Highway.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

ACR 54, as introduced, Wood. Kevin R. Ebbert SO1 Navy SEAL Memorial Highway.

This measure would designate a specified portion of Highway 101 in the County of Humboldt near the City of Arcata as the Kevin R. Ebbert SO1 Navy SEAL Memorial Highway. The measure would request the Department of Transportation to determine the cost for appropriate signs showing this special designation and, upon receiving donations from nonstate sources covering that cost, to erect those signs.

Fiscal committee: yes.

WHEREAS, Kevin R. Ebbert was born on January 23, 1980,
grew up in Arcata, California, and graduated from Arcata High
School. He enjoyed the outdoors, including backpacking, rafting,
and later Ultimate Frisbee. He also had a passion for music and
reading. Kevin graduated from the University of California, Santa
Cruz, with a bachelor’s degree in music, receiving honors in
musical composition; and

WHEREAS, Kevin was a dedicated student of life and was
known for researching a topic thoroughly. He was always true to
his word and lived by his values without imposing them on others.
Kevin was known as a gentle soul who was tough as nails, but
who grew into a caring man who lived by his ideals and was
committed to helping others; and

WHEREAS, Kevin later became an active duty Navy SEAL
and corpsman. He hoped to build on his training as a corpsman to
pursue a career as a physician. On December 31, 2011, Kevin
married Ursula (Jansson) Ebbert, also from Arcata, California.
The couple shared a love of the outdoors, had recently purchased
their first home, and enjoyed many family gatherings; and

WHEREAS, While leading his element on Saturday, November
24, 2012, in support of stability operations in Uruzgan Province,
Afghanistan, a mountainous area in the center of the country,
Kevin’s team was ambushed from above. Kevin left the security
of cover to radio for air support. In doing so he was killed by a
sniper. Kevin’s actions allowed ground and air personnel to support
and retrieve the remaining team members with no other loss of
life; and

WHEREAS, Kevin was a member of Naval Special Warfare
Unit Group 2, on his second deployment to Afghanistan, and was
six weeks from returning to the United States. He had been
accepted at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia, where
he was to finish his training as a corpsman and become a physician.
During his first deployment, he held medical clinics for Afghan
villagers and found that work to be very rewarding. During this
last deployment, Kevin spent his off-duty time on base serving in
the medical center alongside doctors and surgeons. He had also
reached out to Rotary International and Doctors Without Borders
for opportunities to serve in clinics abroad; and

WHEREAS, Kevin was highly decorated by the United States
Navy. He received all of the following awards: two Bronze Stars
with “V” Device, the Purple Heart, the Navy Commendation
Medal, the Marine Corps Commendation Medal, the Navy
Achievement Medal, the Marine Corps Achievement Medal, the
Combat Action Ribbon, two Good Conduct Medals, the National
Defense Service Medal, the Afghanistan Campaign Medal, the
Global War on Terror Service Medal, two Sea Service Deployment
Ribbons, the NATO ISAF Medal, the Expert Rifle Marksmanship
Medal, and the Expert Pistol Marksmanship Medal; and

WHEREAS, A memorial service was held to honor Kevin’s life
on Sunday, December 9, 2012, at Humboldt State University in
Arcata, California. Kevin is survived by his wife, Ursula Ebbert,
his mother Charlie Jordan and sister Samantha Ebbert Martinez,
as well as stepsisters Amy Funk and Kate Renner, stepfather Mark
Ritz, mother-in-law Susan Jansson, father-in-law Erik Jansson,
and grandfathers Richard Ebbert and James Jordan. Kevin was a
second generation Navy SEAL, following in the footsteps of his
father Jeffrey Ebbert (deceased) and his uncle James Ebbert; and

WHEREAS, Designating a portion of Highway 101 in the
County of Humboldt with memorial signs for Special Warfare
Operator 1st Class Kevin R. Ebbert as the Kevin R. Ebbert SO1
Navy SEAL Memorial Highway would be appropriate for a local
American hero; now, therefore, be it

Resolved by the Assembly of the State of California, the Senate
thereof concurring, That the Legislature hereby designates that
portion of Highway 101 in the County of Humboldt from post mile
85.35 to post mile 86.28 near the City of Arcata as the Kevin R.
Ebbert SO1 Navy SEAL Memorial Highway; and be it further

Resolved, That the Department of Transportation is requested
to determine the cost of erecting appropriate signs, consistent with
the signing requirements for the state highway system, showing
this special designation and, upon receiving donations from
nonstate sources covering that cost, to erect those signs; and be it
further

Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies
of this resolution to the Director of Transportation and to the author
for appropriate distribution.