S1156B1851A10111 AJM:EJH 10/10/18 #90 A10111
AMENDMENTS TO SENATE BILL NO. 1156
Sponsor: REPRESENTATIVE SACCONE
Printer's No. 1851
Amend Bill, page 1, line 16, by striking out "and"
Amend Bill, page 1, line 18, by striking out the period after
"Highway" and inserting
; and designating the bridge to be constructed on that portion
of Pennsylvania Route 88 over Peters Creek, Finleyville
Borough, Washington County, as the John Emerick Memorial
Bridge.
Amend Bill, page 7, by inserting between lines 9 and 10
Section 7. John Emerick Memorial Bridge.
(a) Findings.--The General Assembly finds and declares as
follows:
(1) Sergeant John Emerick, a native of Mount Pleasant,
Westmoreland County, enlisted in the Army Air Corps in 1940.
(2) Following the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor, Sergeant
Emerick was deployed to the Bataan Peninsula, Philippines,
initially serving in the 19th Air Base Squadron and later
transferring to the 31st infantry unit in an attempt to halt
the Japanese advance in the region.
(3) With limited food, water and supplies, and following
the order of his commander, Sergeant Emerick, along with
approximately 12,000 Americans and 63,000 Filipinos,
surrendered to Japanese forces as prisoners of war and were
forced to march 65 miles through the jungle with no food or
water. This march would later be known as the Bataan Death
March.
(4) Sergeant Emerick survived the death march and 42
months of capture and was rescued on September 12, 1945, when
United States Forces liberated the prisoners of war.
(5) Sergeant Emerick was awarded the Bronze Star with
"V" for valor for heroism during combat operations on April
6, 1942, on Bataan. His medals included three Bronze Stars, a
Purple Heart, three Presidential Unit Citations and a
Prisoner of War medal.
(6) Following his return to the United States, Sergeant
Emerick became a commander in the American Defenders of
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Bataan and Corregidor, where he was able to assist former
prisoners of war in any way he could, including work that led
to a study resulting in legislation that would become the
former Prisoners of War Benefits Act of 1981.
(7) Sergeant Emerick was a 50-year member of the
American Legion Post in Finleyville and member of the St.
Francis Assisi Church until his death on September 22, 2009.
(b) Designation.--The bridge to be constructed on
Pennsylvania Route 88 over Peters Creek in Finleyville Borough,
Washington County, is designated the John Emerick 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 on the bridge.
Amend Bill, page 7, line 10, by striking out "7" and
inserting
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