HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 53
(By Delegate Evans, Angotti, Anderson, Fletcher, Webb, Kuhn,
Hunt, Linch, Hatfield, Campbell, Kelley, Willis, Laird, Capito,
Shelton, Mattaliano, Coleman, Prunty, Frederick, Willison,
Armstead, Schadler, Overington, Mahan, Ross, Ashley, Varner,
Hutchins, Susman, L. Smith, Sparks, Dalton, Flanigan, Pettit,
Caputo, Manchin, Tucker, Kominar, Ferrell, Butcher, Azinger,
Modesitt, Pino, C. White, Calvert, Trump, H. White, Hall, Manuel,
J. Smith, Hubbard, Proudfoot, Amores, Pethtel, Boggs, Riggs, L.
White, Cann, Givens, Beane, McGraw, Thompson, Border, Facemyer,
Stalnaker, Martin, Louisos, Romine, Faircloth, Hines, Michael,
Leach, Dempsey, Houston and Williams)
Requesting the Commissioner of the West Virginia division of
highways to name bridges in the West Virginia highways system
in honor of West Virginia veterans of the Vietnam conflict
still missing in action in Southeast Asia.
Whereas, During the decades of the 1960's and 1970's, many of
West Virginia's finest native sons and daughters honorably served
in the United States Armed Forces in Vietnam and Southeast Asia ;
and
Whereas, More than twenty-five years have passed since this nation's military involvement in Southeast Asia came to an end;
however, the fate of at least twenty-two of West Virginia's native
sons who are still missing in action remains unknown, and who are
as follows: John Scott Albright, Jr., U.S. Air Force, Huntington;
Albert Harold Altizer, U.S. Army, Squire; Joseph Austin, U.S. Air
Force, Moundsville; Jerry Edward Auxier, U.S. Army, Dixie; Keith
Royal Wilson Curry, U.S. Navy, Salem; James Edward Duncan, U.S.
Army, Point Pleasant; Robert William Hunt, U.S. Army, Beckley;
Carroll Baxter Lilly, U.S. Air Force, Morgantown; Larry Francis
Lucas, U.S. Army, Marmet; Danny G. Marshall, U.S. Marines, Waverly;
Michael Robert Norton, U.S. Army, Eskdale; Edward Milton Parsley,
U.S. Air Force, Naugatuck; Marshall Irvin Pauley, U.S. Air Force,
Milton; Ronald Keith Pennington, U.S. Marines, Hambleton; Joe
Harold Pringle, U.S. Army, Horner; James Ray Sargent, U.S. Marines,
Anawalt; Hughie Franklin Snider, U.S. Army, New Cumberland; Dean
Calvin Spencer, III, U.S. Army, Morgantown; James Lawrence Taylor,
U.S. Army, Nitro; George Winton Thompson, U.S. Air Force, Beckley;
Hobart McKinley Wallace, Jr., U.S. Marines, Sharon; David Wallace
Wickham, U.S. Navy, Wheeling; and
Whereas,
The West Virginia chapters of Veterans organizations
believe that a proper way to keep these individuals' sacrifices
alive in the minds of the citizens of this state and nation would
be to have a bridge in the home county of each of these individuals
named in honor of each veteran from this state still missing in action in Southeast Asia, not only for the sake and honor of those
missing, but also for the sake and honor of their spouses, sons,
daughters, parents, family, friends and fellow surviving veterans;
therefore, be it
Resolved by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That the Commissioner of the West Virginia division of
highways is hereby requested to designate and name a bridge in the
home county and in the proximity of the hometown in honor of each
of the twenty-two individual veterans known to still be missing in
action in Southeast Asia while serving in the United States Armed
Forces during this nation's military involvement in Vietnam and
Southeast Asia, known as the War in Vietnam; and, be it
Further Resolved, That the Commissioner is requested
to have
made and placed, at either end of each such bridge, the name and
branch of service of each such individual in whose name the bridge
is so named, together with the words "NATIVE SON-MISSING IN
ACTION-VIETNAM" after the name of the individual.