THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA

HOUSE BILL

INTRODUCED BY HESS, METZGAR, AUMENT, BAKER, BRENNAN, BROOKS, CALTAGIRONE, CAUSER, COHEN, D. COSTA, COX, EVERETT, FARRY, FLECK, GABLER, GEIST, GEORGE, GILLEN, GILLESPIE, GINGRICH, GOODMAN, GRELL, HALUSKA, HARHART, HARPER, HENNESSEY, HICKERNELL, HORNAMAN, M. K. KELLER, KILLION, KNOWLES, KOTIK, MAHONEY, MAJOR, MANN, MARSHALL, MARSICO, MICCARELLI, MICOZZIE, MILLARD, MIRABITO, MURT, O'NEILL, PAYNE, RAPP, READSHAW, REED, ROCK, ROSS, SONNEY, STERN, STEVENSON, SWANGER, TALLMAN, TOEPEL AND YOUNGBLOOD, DECEMBER 5, 2011

REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION, DECEMBER 5, 2011  

AN ACT

Designating the bridge that carries State Route 26 over the

Raystown branch of the Juniata River in the borough of

Everett, Bedford County, as the Sergeant Robert W. Hartsock

Memorial Bridge.

The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

hereby enacts as follows:

Section 1.  Sergeant Robert W. Hartsock Memorial Bridge.

(a)  Findings.--The General Assembly finds and declares as

follows:

(1)  United States Army Staff Sergeant Robert W. Hartsock

posthumously was awarded the Medal of Honor, the nation's

highest military honor, on August 6, 1970, in recognition of

the extraordinary heroic valor he displayed on February 23,

1969, when he was killed in action during the Vietnam War.

(2)  Sergeant Hartsock was serving as section leader with

the 44th Infantry Platoon, 3rd Brigade, 25th Infantry

Division in Hau Nghia Province, north of Saigon in the

Republic of Vietnam when his Dau Tieng Base Camp came under a

heavy enemy rocket and mortar attack. Sergeant Hartsock and

his platoon commander spotted an enemy squad that had

infiltrated the camp. Undetected by the enemy, Sergeant

Hartsock and his platoon commander awaited the approach of

the enemy soldiers. Though heavily outnumbered, Sergeant

Hartsock and the platoon commander opened fire on the enemy

squad.

(3)  As a wounded enemy soldier fell, he detonated a

satchel charge. Sergeant Hartsock, with complete disregard

for his own life, threw himself on the charge and was

mortally wounded. Despite his wounds, Sergeant Hartsock

crawled into a nearby ditch and continued to provide heavy

fire, pinning down the enemy. Sergeant Hartsock continued to

fire his weapon until he died from his wounds.

(4)  Sergeant Hartsock's heroism saved the life of his

platoon commander and indirectly saved the lives of many of

his fellow soldiers in the camp by disrupting the enemy

squad's mission.

(5)  Born January 24, 1945, Sergeant Hartsock was a 1962

graduate of Everett Southern Joint High School. He enlisted

in the United States Army in August 1967 and was killed with

only two months remaining on his tour of duty in Vietnam.

(6)  Sergeant Hartsock is buried in Rocky Gap Veterans'

Cemetery. The chapel at the cemetery is dedicated to him.

(b)  Designation.--The bridge that carries State Route 26

over the Raystown branch of the Juniata River in the Borough of

Everett, Bedford County, is designated as the Sergeant Robert W.

Hartsock Memorial Bridge.

(c)  Signs.--The Department of Transportation shall erect and

maintain appropriate signs displaying the name of the bridge to

traffic in both directions.

Section 2.  This act shall take effect in 60 days.