Private First Class Thomas Michael “Mike” Hanratty grew up in the Beulah Valley, graduated from Pueblo County High School, and was studying architecture at Southern Colorado State College when he enlisted in the Marines.
American troops arrived in Vietnam in 1965 and Hanratty enlisted a year later. Hanratty’s sister, Bessie Langdon, said. “He chose to join the Marine Corps.
He was going to be drafted, but he chose to be in the Marine Corps because he wanted to be one of the toughest.'
In June of 1967, his helicopter was shot down and his body was never recovered.
It's been 57 years since Hanratty, known as 'Mike,' went missing in action. Kris Allen, spokesperson for the Beulah Historical Society, said “He never came home and no trace was ever found, there’s no grave site.
Hanratty’s family had to mourn their loss without seeing him again.”
About a hundred people gathered Saturday as a 14-mile stretch of road along State Highway 78 was dedicated to the young Vietnam War veteran who never returned home.
The memorial service for Thomas Michael Hanratty included full military honors, as well as speeches from classmates, friends and family, and other Marine Veterans who served during that era. The Beulah Fire Protection Department erected a temporary arch with their fire trucks to display the American flag waving over the highway for the dedication.
Mike's sister, Bessie, shared that the ceremony is over a year in the making and is the closure her family has been needing.
Allen, who along with the Beulah Historical Society, has been pressing for years for the highway dedication, first reached out to then-state Representative Daneya Esgar in 2022 about designating the highway for Hanratty. Esgar advised him to speak with Alamosa Senator Cleave Simpson, who had experience with highway designations.
Simpson was joined by Pueblo State Senator Nick Hinrichsen in introducing a Senate joint resolution to designate Colorado Highway 78 in Pueblo County as the “Pfc. Thomas Michael ‘Mike’ Hanratty Highway.” It passed unanimously in both the House and the Senate.
There will be two signs marking Mike's memorial highway from Pueblo to Beulah. Bessie said they should be installed this month. Andrew Hayes, Pueblo's Director of Public Works, said, at a city council work session on April 15, that manufacturing the signs would cost approximately $2,500 and was, at that time, pending council approval. The signs are slated to be placed outside of city limits, so the Pueblo County government will likely install and maintain them.
Beulah Fire and Protection shared that they were proud to be a part of the Pfc. Thomas Michael 'Mike” Hanratty highway sign and memorial dedication by creating an arch over Highway 78 West.