State bill names LI highways for hero veterans

ALBANY -- New York has named part of a highway in Nassau County for a two-time Medal of Honor winner who rallied his fellow Marines in World War I with the battle cry, "Come on! Do you want to live forever?" and a bridge in Suffolk for a sergeant who died leading his troops in Afghanistan.

Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo signed the bill Thursday that honors Marine Sgt. Maj. Daniel Joseph Daly of Glen Cove and Army Sgt. Michael J. Esposito Jr. of Brentwood, along with other soldiers statewide.

The Sgt. Michael J. Esposito Jr. Memorial Bridge is on the portion of Washington Avenue that crosses the Long Island Expressway in the Town of Islip.

The Sergeant Major Daniel Joseph Daly Memorial Highway is the portion of state Route 107 from the southern Glen Cove city line to Pulaski Street.

In 2004 in Afghanistan, Esposito led his Army team to clear a building. He spotted a door and went to it ahead of his squad. There, he was mortally wounded by rifle fire, but his squad survived to secure the building.

Daly received his first Medal of Honor in 1900 for inflicting 200 casualties during the Boxer Rebellion in China as he defended his position alone. The second top medal came in 1915 for leading a group of Marines to a fort after they were overwhelmed by an ambush of rebels in Haiti. Daly uttered his quote, famous in the Marines, on a French battlefield in World War I.

"Sergeant Major Daniel 'Dan' Joseph Daly was once acclaimed by the former Commandant of the Marine Corps, as 'The outstanding Marine of all time,'" said Sen. Carl Marcellino (R-Syosset). "Fearless, tough, and well respected he exemplifies what it means to be a Marine."

"History reflects that Sgt. Major Daly was recognized not once but twice for separate acts of heroism; a significant achievement by any standards," said Assemb. Charles Lavine (D-Glen Cove).

The state will install signs in the coming months noting the new memorials.