PRINTER'S NO. 1397
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE BILL
No.
1281
Session of
2023
INTRODUCED BY ROSSI, CAUSER, JAMES, KINSEY, HADDOCK, BERNSTINE,
STAATS, KAUFFMAN, SMITH, IRVIN AND NEILSON, MAY 31, 2023
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION, MAY 31, 2023
AN ACT
Designating a bridge, identified as Bridge Key 36247, carrying
Pennsylvania Route 711 over Loyalhanna Creek in Ligonier
Township, Westmoreland County, as the Sergeant Alvin P. Carey
and Private John C. Ewing Medal of Honor Memorial Bridge.
The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
hereby enacts as follows:
Section 1. Sergeant Alvin P. Carey and Private John C. Ewing
Medal of Honor Memorial Bridge.
(a) Findings.--The General Assembly finds and declares as
follows:
(1) Alvin P. Carey was born August 16, 1916, in
Lycippus, Westmoreland County.
(2) Mr. Carey graduated from Ligonier High School in
1935.
(3) Mr. Carey enlisted in the United States Army in
January 1941, shortly after the attack on Pearl Harbor.
(4) Sergeant Carey landed at Utah Beach in Normandy on
June 7, 1944, with the 2nd Infantry Division. Initially
wounded in action and awarded the Purple Heart, he returned
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to the front lines to fight the Germans in Brest, France.
While at Brest, Sergeant Carey was mortally wounded after
crawling up a fire-riddled hill alone to take on a German
pillbox. Due to his brave actions, the Allied soldiers were
able to quickly take over the pillbox, leading to the end of
Axis control in France.
(5) John C. Ewing was born March 4, 1843, in Donegal
Township, Westmoreland County.
(6) Mr. Ewing received no formal education and was self-
taught.
(7) Mr. Ewing volunteered for service with the
Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry 211th on September 12, 1864.
(8) Private Ewing and his regiment took part in the
final assaults on Confederate positions in Petersburg,
Virginia. On April 2, 1865, he engaged in hostile hand-to-
hand combat, during which he captured the flags at the Battle
of Five Forks near Petersburg. The battle was a key turning
point, as it caused the fall of Richmond and led to the
surrender of the Northern Virginia Army.
(9) For their bravery, both men were awarded the
Congressional Medal of Honor. Both men are considered
hometown heroes to many in the Westmoreland County community.
(b) Designation.--The bridge, identified as Bridge Key
36247, carrying Pennsylvania Route 711 over Loyalhanna Creek in
Ligonier Township, Westmoreland County, is designated the
Sergeant Alvin P. Carey and Private John C. Ewing Medal of Honor
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.
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Section 2. Effective date.
This act shall take effect in 60 days.
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