‘Bittersweet': Local highway dedicated to Marine killed at military base
PAINESVILLE TOWNSHIP, Ohio (WJW) – A heavily traveled stretch of highway in Lake County was dedicated on Thursday in honor of a local U.S. Marine who was killed in 2023.
The lasting tribute is a testament to how the family of the young serviceman turned their shock and anger over the way he died into a quiet campaign for recognition of his service.
Relatives said when Austin Schwenk, a 2022 graduate of Riverside High School in Painesville Township, enlisted in the Marine Corps, it was the realization of a lifelong dream as he followed in the footsteps of his hero, his father.
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But for Austin's family, the dream became a nightmare when they were notified by the USMC in October 2023 that the 19-year-old Lance Corporal had been shot to death by a fellow Marine in the barracks at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. It was the same Marine base where Austin was born in 2004.
'If you get lost in the war, that's one thing, but to have another Marine walk into your room and shoot you, uncalled for, uncalled for, never ever in a million years. The safest place in the world should have been at Camp Lejeune,' his grandmother, Virginia Gorg, said.
Austin's family was overcome with grief when his remains were returned to the Greater Cleveland Area.
They were touched by the way his hometown saluted their loved one during an emotional procession and at his funeral, but they said the heartbreaking pain remains.
'It's like a hole, we all have a piece of our life missing and we can never replace it,' his grandmother said.
The Marine who killed him, Corporal Jesse Thomas Bopp, accepted a plea bargain and was sentenced to eight years in prison but never revealed why he took Austin's life.
'It would be nice to have that closure, that he would have to be forced to tell us why he did this, why he thought he could get away with it or whatever it was,' said Gorg.
Schwenk's family decided to channel their anger and sadness and find a way to pay tribute to the 19-year-old.
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On Thursday, a stretch of Route 44 near the Route 20/Painesville exit, was dedicated by the state of Ohio as the Lance Corporal Austin B. Schwenk Memorial Highway.
'It's heartwarming and bittersweet all at the same time, It just means that we're thankful that he's being remembered for what he gave and he gave it all,' his grandmother said.
The family said it is comforting to know that for generations to come, Northeast Ohioans will drive by the memorial sign and ask, 'Who was Austin Schwenk?'
Austin's grandmother said she believes he would be proud of the permanent salute from his hometown.
'The reason it rained today was because he was sending tears from Heaven so we didn't have to cry, but that didn't work,' she said as a tear rolled down her cheek.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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