LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18)– The city’s VA facilities were officially re-named Thursday after two Kentucky natives who fought at Iwo Jima during WWII.
Franklin Sousley and Troy Bowling truly earned the title of American hero.
Bowling was critically injured and went on to survive vowing to dedicate his life to serving veterans.
He volunteered more than 78,000 hours at the VA in Lexington before passing away last summer.
Sousley, a Flemingsburg native, is one of six men immortalized in the iconic Joe Rosenthal photo of the Iwo Jima flag raising.
He was killed in battle at the age of 19.
The ceremony was made possible by a bill authored by Representative Andy Barr. It was signed in to law in March.
Each man’s family was on hand for the special re-naming ceremony.
The Leestown campus is named for Sousley, and the Cooper Drive campus for Bowling.
