On September 24, 1944, Adams Township native, Wesley Karna, was serving with the 91st U.S. Infantry Division, when he was killed in action on the Gothic Line, in Northern Tuscany, in northern Italy.

Markkanen, who sponsored House Bill 5462, said, when he introduced the bill in February, that Karna had served his country bravely in its time of greatest need.

Wesley Vietti Karna was born Aug. 24, 1922, to Finnish immigrants Erick and Ida Kara, in Adams Township, Michigan, where he grew up on Academy Street, not far from the village of South Range. He left for the European Theater of Operations in early 1944 during World War II.

In April 1944, at the age of 21 years, Karna was a private U.S. Army. After initial training at Camp White, Oregon, the division had participated in the Oregon Maneuver combat exercise, the largest military field exercise conducted in the Pacific Northwest. In North Africa, the division underwent more training, at Arzew and Renan, French Morocco. In June, the division was sent to Italy as part of the Second Corps of the U.S. Fifth Army. Karna was a member of Company F, 2nd Battalion, 362nd Infantry Regiment, 91st Division, II Corps, Fifth U.S. Army.

Courtesy of Brad Uren The headstone at Wesley Karna’s burial site in Mountain View Cemetery in South Range

On September 24, 1944, one month after his 22nd birthday, Karna was killed in action on the Gothic Line, in Northern Tuscany, in northern Italy. He was awarded the Purple Heart.

Markkanen’s plan first passed the House Transportation Committee Tuesday.

Brad Uren, Karna’s great-nephew, testified with Markkanen during the committee meeting where they outlined how an Italian historian with a metal detector recently unearthed Private Karna’s canteen. It had been buried 80 years ago. Private Karna had scratched his name into it. That discovery led Uren and his family to find further details about Pvt. Karna’s service and the circumstances surrounding his ultimate sacrifice.

“Pvt. Karna was 22 when he was killed in action,” Markkanen said in his Wed. press release. “He laid down his life and sacrificed his future serving our country. Instead of living the American Dream of buying a house, getting married, and having children, Private Karna deployed overseas with the US Army. Brave servicemen like him brought the torch of liberty to the shores of a Western Europe engulfed by a totalitarian regime. Because men like Private Karna were willing to sacrifice everything, the mainland United States hasn’t seen war since the 1800’s. Renaming this portion of highway allows us to return a small piece of legacy to this American hero from the U.P.”

Having been supported by the village, county, and State House of Representatives, HB 5462 now moves to the State Senate for further consideration.

Courtesy of Brad Uren Pvt. Wesley Karna’s tin cup was found in a foxhole position in the woods near Futa Pass in Italy

Pvt. Wesley Karna