Box Elder County highway to be named for 4 brothers who died in WWII

TREMONTON — They may have died during World War II, but the four Borgstrom brothers killed while serving live on in the hearts and minds of Box Elder County residents.

"It's quite a story. It's quite a history and something that we honor here in Tremonton," said Tremonton Mayor Lyle Holmgren.

Now, they'll also live on as the namesake of a Box Elder County roadway — state Route 102, which extends from Deweyville west to Tremonton, then further west and south to state Route 83. The 20-mile roadway, per legislation approved by Utah lawmakers during the recent session, is to become the Borgstrom Brothers Memorial Highway, a designation that will also be indicated on Utah road maps.

The roadway passes the old site of the Borgstrom home in Thatcher.

"As a grandson of a World War II Marine it really just spoke to my heart," said Utah Rep. Thomas Peterson, R-Brigham City, who sponsored the measure, HB32. "It's unfortunate that we've had to wait 80 years to recognize this sacrifice. It should have been done a while ago."

It's not the first effort to remember the four brothers — Clyde, Leroy and twins, Rolon and Rulon — killed during a six-month span in 1944. They're the focus of a memorial at Riverview Cemetery in Tremonton, dedicated on Memorial Day last year, and also remembered at the Midland Square Veterans Memorial in the city. The highway naming is one more means of keeping the Borgstrom name and story alive.

"You can imagine the heartbreak for the family and the heartbreak for the community, really," said Holmgren. "We've tried to recognize them through the years and everything."

Peterson doesn't think enough has been done to remember the Borgstroms, figuring in the legislation. HB32, approved unanimously by the Utah Senate and House and signed into law by Gov. Spencer Cox on Feb. 27, calls for two road signs with the memorial highway designation. Peterson hopes for four.

"I think it's a good opportunity for us to reflect and to continue to pay tribute to those who did pay the ultimate sacrifice," he said.

Clyde Borgstrom, 28, died in Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands on March 17, 1944, in an accident while bulldozing debris to aid in the construction of an airport. Leroy Borgstrom, 30, was killed on June 22, 1944, during a battle in Italy, according to an account on the city of Tremonton website. Rolon Borgstrom, 19, the gunner on a bomber, was shot while flying over Germany on Aug. 8, 1944, and later succumbed to his injuries. Rulon Borgstrom, reported missing on Aug. 25, 1944, died in France as part of the D-Day offensive that started the prior June, also at the age of 19.

An older Borgstrom brother had earlier died of appendicitis, while a sixth brother, Boyd Borgstrom, received a reprieve of sorts while completing his tour of duty during World War II. "Upon news that his fourth brother was missing in action, Boyd was shipped from the South Pacific to Camp LeJeune, North Carolina, where he was discharged on Oct. 7, 1944," reads a Utah State Historical Society account of the brothers.

The tragic story echoes "Saving Private Ryan," the 1998 World War II movie about a group of U.S. soldiers' efforts to locate an Army private whose three brothers had been killed in the war. But according to a 1998 Associated Press story, which focused on the Borgstroms, the movie more closely resembles the account of another family in New York that lost three siblings in the war.

According to the AP story, the death of the Borgstrom brothers had a devastating impact on the family. "It wrecked our family. ... It's always in your mind," Wilma Hawkes, a sister of the Borgstrom brothers and one of Alben and Gunda Borgstrom's 10 kids, told the news outlet.

Holmgren said Boyd Borgstrom struggled in the aftermath of his brothers' deaths. "He always had that survivor's guilt. 'Why was I the one that got to survive?'" he said.

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