COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR

HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 36(By Delegates R. Phillips, Tomblin, Marcum,

                   Eldridge and Barker)

Requesting the Division of Highways to name the West Virginia 73 Overpass at the Logan exit of Route 119, Logan, Logan County, bridge number 23-119-5.67 (23A254), as the “U. S. Army SGT Billy E. Vinson Memorial Bridge.”

    Whereas, SGT Vinson was a native of Omar, McDowell County, West Virginia; and

    Whereas, SGT Vinson served in the Ohio National Guard’s 148th Infantry, 37th Division during the Second World War; and

    Whereas, In 1945, in Manila, Philippines, SGT Vinson led a team searching house-to-house for Japanese defenders and was ambushed by elite Japanese marines; and

    Whereas, SGT Vinsons’s quick defensive actions that day in the Philippines allowed enough time for his soldiers to evacuate their wounded to safety; and

    Whereas, SGT Vinsons’s heroism earned him the Silver Star; and

    Whereas, It is fitting to honor SGT Billy E. Vinson’s service by naming the Route 119 bridge crossing the Logan exit after him; therefore, be it

    Resolved by the Legislature of West Virginia:

    That the Legislature hereby requests the Division of Highways to name the West Virginia 73 Overpass at the Logan exit of Route 119, Logan, Logan County, bridge number 23-119-5.67 (23A254), as the “U. S. Army SGT Billy E. Vinson Memorial Bridge”; and, be it

    Further Resolved, That the Division of Highways is hereby requested to have made and be placed signs identifying the bridge as the “U. S. Army SGT Billy E. Vinson Memorial Bridge”; and, be it

    Further Resolved, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates forward a certified copy of this resolution to the Secretary of the Department of Transportation; and SGT Billy E. Vinson’s surviving relatives.