1Amend Bill, page 1, line 12, by striking out "and"

2Amend Bill, page 1, line 14, by striking out the period after
3"Bridge" and inserting

4 ; and designating the bridge crossing the Lackawanna River 
5along 8th Avenue, also known as U.S. Business Route 6, in 
6downtown Carbondale, Lackawanna County, as the 109th Infantry 
7Bridge.

8Amend Bill, page 6, by inserting between lines 8 and 9

9Section 6. 109th Infantry Bridge.

10(a) Findings.--The General Assembly finds and declares as
11follows:

12(1) The 109th Infantry Regiment constitutes one of four
13regiments in the 55th Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 28th
14Infantry Division. Units of this Brigade date back to the
15American Revolution and were engaged in all the wars of this
16nation.

17(2) The 109th Infantry trace their origins to the
18Scranton City Guards Battalion, National Guard of
19Pennsylvania, which was constituted and organized on August
2014, 1877. It was redesignated on September 23, 1878, as the
2113th Infantry Regiment. The unit was mustered into Federal
22service on May 12 and 13, 1898, at Mount Gretna,
23Pennsylvania, as the 13th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry
24Regiment for the Spanish American War. The unit did not serve
25outside the continental United States. It was mustered out of
26Federal service on March 11, 1899, at Augusta, Georgia.

27(3) On September 26, 1916, the unit was mustered into
28Federal service at Mount Gretna for service on the Mexican
29border and was stationed at Camp Stewart, El Paso, Texas. As
30border patrol operations began to close, the unit continued
31in Federal service as the United States entered World War I.
32The unit was drafted into Federal service on August 5, 1917.
33The unit was consolidated with the 1st Infantry Regiment,
34which was organized in 1777 and it was reorganized and
35redesignated as the 109th Infantry Regiment, an element of

1the 28th Division. The unit was mustered out of Federal
2service from May 17 through 20, 1919, at Camp Dix, New
3Jersey, and returned to the Commonwealth's control.

4(4) The soldiers of the 109th Infantry Regiment earned
5the nickname "Men of Iron" for the three-day defense against
6overwhelming odds during the German Army's Champagne-Marne
7Offensive when the 109th Infantry Regiment was attacked by
8the German 36th Division. A later German after-action report
9described the battle as "the most severe defeat of the war."
10The unit received campaign participation credit for the
11following: Champagne-Marne, Aisne-Marne, Oise-Aisne, Meuse-
12Argonne, Champagne 1918 and Lorraine 1918. The regiment had
13suffered more than 100% casualties from the time it began
14service in Europe until the signing of the Armistice on
15November 11, 1918. Fighting was so fierce in some battles
16that in one case, an entire battalion was left in command of
17a sergeant. The red "Keystone," the symbol of the
18Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, became the patch of the 28th
19Division. It was the second official unit patch recognized by
20the War Department, even though the symbol of the red
21keystone has been worn on the uniforms of Pennsylvania
22soldiers since the 1870s.

23(5) Ten months before the Japanese sneak attack on Pearl
24Harbor, the 28th Division, including the 109th Infantry
25Regiment, received orders into Federal service. After the
26United States entered World War II, the division trained
27extensively in Pennsylvania, Louisiana, Florida, England and
28Wales. The 109th became a Regimental Combat Team. It landed
29in France after D-Day and fought through Normandy, helped
30liberate Paris and battled through the Hurtgen Forest of
31Germany. Elements of the Regiment led the Division into the
32Rhineland to become the first troops to invade German soil
33since Napoleon and became bitterly engaged in the "West Wall"
34of Germany. The 109th Infantry paid with human life and blood
35as they received the following battle honors: Normandy,
36Northern France, Rhineland, Ardennes-Alsace and Central
37Europe. They also received the following decorations from
38foreign governments: the French Croix de Guerre with Palm,
39streamer embroidered "COLMAR" and the Luxembourg Croix de
40Guerre, streamer embroidered "LUXEMBOURG."

41(6) The most noteworthy of the 109th Infantry's
42achievements during World War II came while the Regiment
43rested in the Ardennes sector, considered a "quiet" area,
44early in December 1944. At that time, the German General Von
45Rundstedt launched the vicious, well-planned battle which
46became known as the Battle of the Bulge. For eleven days the
47109th Regimental Combat Team had frustrated the offensive
48efforts of the German 5th Parachute Division and the 352nd VG
49Division to seize key terrain and establish a firm southern
50defense line for the main offensive thrust to seize Antwerp.
51By December 23, 1944, the 915th Volksgrenadier Regiment,

1352nd Volksgrenadier (VG) Division, the major foe, had been
2eliminated by the 109th Regimental Combat Team as a combat
3organization. Elements of the 914th and 916th Volksgrenadier
4Regiments also suffered sizeable losses. By December 25,
51944, except for the 2nd Battalion, the men of the 109th
6Infantry began to push back north across the Sure River which
7they had slowly been pushed through the previous eleven days.
8They had suffered 1,174 casualties in the battle in just the
9month of December, almost 40% of their effective strength.

10(7) Those of the 109th Infantry also underwent
11mobilization for the Korean War with the 28th Infantry
12Division, Pennsylvania National Guard, as it reinforced NATO
13in Germany in 1950. Several Pennsylvania units saw active
14service in Korea. Additionally, from September 2002 until
15March 2003, the unit was mobilized in support of Operation
16Joint Forge in Bosnia-Herzegovina. On January 4, 2005, the
17battalion mobilized again and was assigned to the 2nd Brigade
18Combat Team, 28th Infantry Division (Mechanized) which
19deployed in June 2005 to Al Anbar Province, Iraq, in support
20of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

21(8) Since that time, the 109th Infantry has provided
22assistance to local residents of northeastern Pennsylvania
23during times of flooding and other natural disasters.
24Additionally, those in the Regiment continue their job of
25maintaining their equipment and training for needed future
26service. Among those who serve at the 109th Infantry
27Headquarters in Scranton are residents of Carbondale,
28Berwick, East Stroudsburg, Honesdale, Milton, Williamsport
29and other areas of Lackawanna, Luzerne, Monroe, Wayne, Pike,
30Lycoming and other northeastern Pennsylvania counties. All of
31these who serve do so for all of the people of Pennsylvania
32and the nation and stand proud with the military readiness
33entrusted them according to the Regiment's motto, "CIVES ARMA
34FERANT: Let the Citizens Bear Arms."

35(b) Designation.--Because of the great history, sacrifice
36and commitment of those who have served in the 109th Infantry
37Regiment, the bridge crossing the Lackawanna River along 8th
38Avenue, also known as U.S. Business Route 6, in downtown
39Carbondale, Lackawanna County, is hereby designated the 109th
40Infantry Bridge.

41(c) Signs.--The Department of Transportation shall erect and
42maintain appropriate signs displaying the name of the bridge to
43traffic in both directions on the bridge with the infantry's
44motto "CIVES ARMA FERANT: Let the Citizens Bear Arms" showing on
45the sign. Additionally, the department shall work with officials
46of the City of Carbondale and local residents on properly
47installing the 109th Infantry Regimental Crest with its motto
48"CIVES ARMA FERANT: Let the Citizens Bear Arms" on the bridge in
49the future.

50Amend Bill, page 6, line 9, by striking out "6" and inserting

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