Ritchie Honors Family of Late General Paul Cerjan WITH Bill Naming Fort Drum Connector

State Senator Patty Ritchie honored the late US Army Lieutenant General Paul Cerjan in Henderson Harbor Thursday, presenting the bill naming the I-81 Ft. Drum Connector in his honor to the Cerjan Family. 

Senator Ritchie proposed legislation to name the roadway in General Cerjan’s honor, and it was signed into law by Governor Cuomo last year. 

“General Cerjan played a key role in the transformation of Fort Drum and because of him, the post went from becoming a small reserve training center to a world-class military installation,” said Senator Ritchie.

“It’s fitting that we named this roadway in his honor; because it’s goal—making things safer, and easier for 10th Mountain Division soldiers, their families and others visiting Ft. Drum—is much like the goals that General Cerjan had.”

A Rome, NY native General Cerjan served in the Army for 34 years. He was the Assistant Commander for Support of the 10th Mountain Division from 1985 to 1988.  During that time he was responsible for the planning, programming and execution of a $1.2 billion construction project, which transformed Ft. Drum from a small reserve training center to a world class military installation.

After his retirement in 1994, General Cerjan continued to contribute to both our nation and the North Country.  He served as CEO of several organizations in direct support of soldiers in combat and also served as president of three universities, helping to shape the minds of the future leaders of our country.

(Senator Ritchie is pictured in the above photo with Pat Cerjan, the wife of the late US Army Lieutenant General Paul Cerjan and Colonel Michael Plummer)