Section of Hwy. 82 named in honor of Columbus WWII veteran

According to the Mississippi Department of Transportation, Thomas Dayton Egger epitomized what has often been called “The Greatest Generation.”

A ceremony was held this week at First Baptist Church in Columbus where Northern Transportation Commissioner John Caldwell, Senator Chuck Younger, and others gathered to designate a segment of U.S. Highway 82 in Lowndes County as the “Dayton Egger Memorial Highway.”

According to the Mississippi Department of Transportation, Thomas Dayton Egger epitomized what has often been called “The Greatest Generation.”

In 1942, Egger helped organize the Mississippi State Guard before leaving for the U. S. Army in 1944 during World War II. Egger would serve in General George S. Patton’s Company C, 378 th Infantry, 95 th Infantry Division.

During the Bat