Englewood street named after Henry Mayfield Jr., Hazel Crest soldier killed in Kenya terrorist attack
'(I) want them to know there's some good things coming out of Englewood,' Mayfield's father said
CHICAGO (WLS) -- Dozens gathered Sunday on a corner in Chicago's South Side Englewood neighborhood to honor a soldier who made the ultimate sacrifice.
The corner of 57th and Laflin streets has now officially been renamed "Honorary Spc. Henry Mayfield Jr. Way," after the late Army Spc. Henry Mayfield Jr.
Despite the steady, chilling rain Sunday morning, a crowd still joined to witness the street sign's unveiling.
The ceremony was held on the street where Mayfield grew up, a place with generational roots for his family.
"Words couldn't explain what it meant," said Henry Mayfield Sr., Mayfield's father.
Mayfield and his family later moved to suburban Hazel Crest.
On Sunday, his father called this a proud moment, but it's of course bittersweet, too.
"He wanted to make some good in the world, and he set out to do that, and he gave his life doing that," Mayfield Sr. said.
Mayfield was one of three U.S. soldiers killed by terrorists in January at the Manda Bay Airfield in Kenya.
RELATED: Soldier from Hazel Crest killed in Al-Shabab terrorist attack at Kenyan military base
Now, instead of celebrating his 24th birthday, Mayfield's family and community are memorializing a young life ended too soon.
"This is very special. My nephew is a local hero," Mayfield's Great Aunt Victoria Overton said.
Alderman Stephanie Coleman of the 16th Ward said she hoped the street sign serves as an inspiration.
"I hope that a young person who's right down the block or walking down the block would look up and see his name and say 'I want to be like him,'" Coleman said.
Mayfield's father agreed.
"(I) want them to know there's some good things coming out of Englewood," he said.
Mayfield leaves a legacy this community can look up to for generations to come.
