PRINCESS ANNE, Md. — More than 17 years after losing her son in a vehicle accident on Route 13, a Salisbury mother is getting a permanent reminder of him on that same road.
Cpl. Sean Mitchell turned 21 in February 2009. Just weeks later in March, he was killed when his truck hit a tree in the median on Route 13 in Princess Anne. He had been driving back to his base in North Carolina after returning home from a deployment to Iraq with the Marines.
His family placed crosses at the site over the years, but the State Highway Administration removed one in 2014, calling the memorial a distraction to drivers.
"I didn't think there was ever going to be anything permanent for him," said Kathleen Mitchell, Sean's mother. "I never expected there to be anything up for him…I just thought once they took down that cross that that was it.
Kathleen said her putting up the cross was a way to keep Sean’s legacy going.
"I think anybody that has lost a child, I'll tell you that the greatest fear is that your child's going to be forgotten," she said.
About a year ago, Kathleen noticed a memorial sign for another Marine farther down Route 13 and began making calls. After five months of working with state and local officials, a sign dedicating a portion of Route 13 in Sean's memory was unveiled Tuesday night at a ceremony at the Princess Anne Library.
A representative from the State Highway Administration attended the ceremony and presented Kathleen with a small replica of the sign before the official unveiling.
Kathleen said she wants people to remember more than her son's service.
"Sean was full of laughter, and Sean could make you laugh over everything," she said.
She said the sign's permanence is what matters most.
"Just the fact that it'll be up and it'll be maintained. The state highway does maintain them. Even if you don't know him, just to read the sign, you know, you're in your mind, you're reading it, so you're saying his name. And to me that'll keep him alive," Mitchell said.
