PRINTER'S NO. 578
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE BILL
No.
555
Session of
2017
INTRODUCED BY MALONEY, TOEPEL, GILLEN, KNOWLES, O'NEILL, COX,
LONGIETTI, HENNESSEY, RYAN, DiGIROLAMO, SACCONE, JAMES, DUSH,
SONNEY, MURT, D. COSTA, ROZZI, MILLARD, CALTAGIRONE, MARSICO,
WARD, SAYLOR, PICKETT, IRVIN AND GABLER, FEBRUARY 17, 2017
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION, FEBRUARY 17, 2017
AN ACT
Designating a portion of State Route 562 in Berks County as the
General Carl A. Spaatz Memorial Highway.
The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
hereby enacts as follows:
Section 1. General Carl A. Spaatz Memorial Highway.
(a) Findings.--The General Assembly finds and declares as
follows:
(1) Carl Andrew "Tooey" Spaatz was born in Boyertown,
Berks County, on June 28, 1891.
(2) Drawn to aviation, after graduating from West Point
in 1914 and being commissioned as a second lieutenant in the
infantry, Mr. Spaatz studied at the Aviation School at San
Diego, California.
(3) Mr. Spaatz served with the 1st Aero Squadron as a
first lieutenant under General John "Black Jack" Pershing
during the Punitive Expedition into Mexico.
(4) After being promoted to captain in May 1917, Mr.
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Spaatz served in France with the American Expeditionary
Forces during World War I and, as a fighter pilot, shot down
three German Fokker planes behind enemy lines, which earned
him the Distinguished Service Cross.
(5) Mr. Spaatz was promoted to major on July 1, 1920,
and during the interwar years he proceeded up the ranks of a
peacetime Air Corps.
(6) Mr. Spaatz was awarded the Distinguished Flying
Cross for commanding the refueling endurance flight of the
Question Mark plane from January 1 through 7, 1929, during
which the plane broke a record for sustained flight.
(7) After the United States entered into World War II,
in 1942, Mr. Spaatz was named chief of the Air Force Combat
Command and was sent to England to initiate the planning
stages for the United States Army Air Forces in Europe.
(8) Later in 1942, Mr. Spaatz was named commander of the
United States Army Air Forces in Europe.
(9) In 1943, Mr. Spaatz commanded the Twelfth Air Force
in North Africa where his forces played a pivotal role in
reducing Erwin Rommel's Afrika Korps.
(10) In 1944, Mr. Spaatz returned to England and was
named the commanding general of the United States Strategic
Air Forces in Europe.
(11) In this role, Mr. Spaatz played a key role in
Operation Overlord, more commonly known as D-Day, by
directing the Allied aerial attacks covering the landings on
the beaches of Normandy.
(12) Mr. Spaatz also commanded the strategic bombing of
Germany.
(13) On March 11, 1945, Mr. Spaatz received a temporary
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promotion to general and later was named commander of the
United States Strategic Air Forces in the Pacific where he
supervised the final strategic bombings of Japan, including
two atomic bomb missions.
(13) Mr. Spaatz was the only man of general rank or
equivalent to attend all three surrender ceremonies that
ended World War II.
(14) In 1946, Mr. Spaatz was named commander-in-chief of
the Army Air Forces, and in 1947 he was named the first chief
of staff of the newly independent United States Air Force.
(15) Mr. Spaatz retired from military service in 1948
and passed away on July 14, 1974.
(b) Designation.--The portion of State Route 562 in Berks
County from the intersection with State Route 73 in the Borough
of Boyertown to the intersection with State Route 662 at the
township line between Amity Township and Oley Township is hereby
designated the General Carl A. Spaatz Memorial Highway.
(c) Signs.--The Department of Transportation shall erect and
maintain appropriate signs displaying the name of the highway to
traffic in both directions on the highway.
Section 2. Effective date.
This act shall take effect in 60 days.
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