Published: Nov. 10, 2024 at 10:19 PM CST |Updated: 2 hours ago HARRISON COUNTY, Miss. (WLOX) - A World War II soldier who died during the Normandy Invasion is the latest namesake of a bridge. Drive on Highway 49 north from Gulfport and you may notice a new sign marking the bridge crossing Little Biloxi River: Willie E. King Memorial Bridge. “I never knew my dad. I was six months old when he died,” said Willie King‘s son, William ’Pete' Steele. “The reason I have a different last name is I was adopted by my stepdad when my mom remarried when I was six.” Steele’s biological parents married in 1941. Two years later, King enlisted in the United States Army. By June 1944, the 22-year-old was shipped out to Europe to begin his tour of duty. “Their division, 29th Division, was the first wave going in,” Steele said. “And that was when he got killed on Omaha Beach. Him and a bunch of others got killed that day.” 4,414 Allied soldiers died on June 6, and more than 5,000 were wounded. King’s body was returned to his family three years later. Steele inherited his father’s possessions in 2017, including a Purple Heart medal. He brought the collection to the Mississippi Armed Forces Museum at Camp Shelby. “I told my wife on the drive back home, ‘I’m gonna get this bridge named after my dad,‘” Steele recalled. After years of petitioning local leaders, Steele met state senator Mike Seymour. “I told him that I am trying to get the bridge named after my dad. He said, ‘You know, you‘re talking to the right person. I‘m on the veterans committee.’” Six months later, a bill was passed and signed by Governor Tate Reeves to memorialize Willie E. King’s sacrifice. “I think about him and how it would’ve been,” Steele said. “He would be 102 years old if he was still alive.” See a spelling or grammar error in this story? Report it to our team HERE. Copyright 2024 WLOX. All rights reserved. Most Read