HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 22

(By Delegates Stemple and Givens)

[Introduced March 15, 2001; referred to the

Committee on Rules.]



Requesting the West Virginia division of highways to name the bridge at Grantsville, West Virginia over the Little Kanawha River at the intersection of Route 16 and Route 5 the "Bernard P. Bell, Congressional Medal of Honor Winner, Memorial Bridge".

Whereas, The late Bernard Pius Bell was a native of Calhoun County and the son of the late Mr. and Mrs. R. P. Bell of Calhoun and Pt. Pleasant, West Virginia; and
Whereas, Bernard P. Bell served as a technical sergeant in Company I, 142nd Infantry, 36th Infantry Division of the United States Army during World War II; and
Whereas, T/Sgt Bell, on the morning of December 18, 1944, at Mittelwihr, France, while leading a squad of soldiers against a schoolhouse held by enemy troops, dashed to the building, captured two guards and found other enemy troops in the basement of the building; and
Whereas, By threatening the enemy with hand grenades, T/Sgt Bell forced twenty-six enemy troops to emerge and surrender, allowing his squad to occupy the building and prepare to defend it against powerful enemy action; and
Whereas, The next day T/Sgt Bell and his squad came under heavy artillery and mortar fire; and
Whereas, T/Sgt Bell repeatedly exposed himself to hostile fire to repair communications to keep his company commander informed of the situation, and continued to kill enemy soldiers and take prisoners throughout the day; and
Whereas, The following day, as the school house came under heavy attack by an enemy tank that destroyed much of the upper stories of the structure, T/Sgt Bell climbed to the second floor and directed artillery fire which forced the hostile tank to withdraw, then adjusted mortar fire on large forces of enemy foot soldiers attempting to reach the American position, and then directed machine gun fire into the disorganized ranks of the enemy soldiers as they broke and attempted to retire; and
Whereas, T/Sgt Bell then exposed himself repeatedly to small arms fire to stand beside a friendly tank to instruct its crew where to rip holes in walls protecting approaches to the school building, and then trained machine guns on those holes killing all hostile troops attempting to cross the openings to reach the school building; and
Whereas, T/Sgt Bell, by his bold and aggressive leadership, enabled his eight-man squad to drive back approximately 150 of the enemy, capture 42 and kill 47, and personally killed more than 20 and captured 33 of the enemy soldiers, and
Whereas, The naming of the bridge is an appropriate act to honor the memory of one of West Virginia's outstanding citizens who fought bravely to protect American freedom; therefore, be it
Resolved by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That the Legislature hereby request the West Virginia Division of Highways to name the bridge at Grantsville, West Virginia over the Little Kanawha River at the intersection of Route 16 and Route Five the "Bernard P. Bell, Congressional Medal of Honor Winner, Memorial Bridge"; and, be it
Further Resolved, That the Commissioner is requested to have made and be placed, at either end of the bridge, signs identifying the bridge as the "Bernard P. Bell, Congressional Medal of Honor Winner, Memorial Bridge"; and, be it
Further Resolved, That the Clerk of the House is hereby directed to forward a copy of this resolution to the Secretary of Transportation, the Commissioner of the Division of Highways, the County Commission of Grant County, and surviving members of the Bernard P. Bell family.