A portion of Route 64 will be renamed in memory of Chief Warrant Officer Christian Koch. File Photo
A portion of Route 64 in the town of Mendon will be named in memory of Chief Warrant Officer 4 Christian J. Koch after a bill was signed last week by the Governor.
Sen. Robert Ortt (R-North Tonawanda) and Assemblywoman Marjorie Byrnes (R-Caledonia) sponsored the bill (S.5399/A.7031) renaming a portion of State Highway 64 after Chief Warrant Officer Christian Koch was signed by the Governor on Friday, July 30.
“Christian Koch is our local hero,” Byrnes said. “His friends and family have suffered a great loss. I hope this designation will remind them of how grateful we are for Christian’s service and sacrifice. I am thankful the governor signed this legislation, which shows that the entire state shares in our loss and our desire to honor Christian.”
On the night of January 20, 2021, Chief Warrant Officer Koch, alongside Chief Warrant Officers Steven Skoda and Daniel Prial, were carrying out a training mission in their UH-60 medical evacuation helicopter when the transport aircraft crashed in a field on West Bloomfield Road. All three U.S. Army National Guardsmen perished in the crash.
At the request of the Koch family and local government officials, legislation to rename a portion of State Highway 64 close to where the Chief Warrant Officer Koch’s wife and children live was sponsored by Sen. Ortt and Assemblywoman Byrnes. At the time of the crash, Koch was a resident of the town of Mendon.
“Our service members go above and beyond for their country every day,” said a statement from Cuomo. “Chief Warrant Officer 4 Christian Koch was no different and his death is a tragedy that did not occur in vain. To his surviving loved ones, we are immensely grateful for his service and sorry for your loss.”
Koch served in the war in Afghanistan in 2012 and 2013 and in the war in Iraq in 2008 and 2009. The legislation renaming the highway passed both the State Assembly and State Senate in June.
“Chief Warrant Officer Koch was a hero who gave his life while serving our nation, and we will forever be grateful for his sacrifice,” Ortt said. “Whether a soldier’s duties be on foreign soil or here at home, the dangers that come with service to our country are always present. I am honored to have sponsored this legislation to rename a portion of State Highway 64 in Chief Warrant Officer Koch’s memory, and I hope that it serves as a reminder for all those who travel on it what the true cost of freedom is.”
The aforementioned portion of State Highway 64 will now be known as the “Chief Warrant Officer Christian J. Koch Memorial Highway.” Mendon Town Supervisor John Moffitt said on Monday, August 2, that the portion of road to be designated will be south of Route 251 and the four corners in the hamlet of Mendon to the Monroe-Ontario County line.
