Note: ATA Provided Transportation Support for area veterans during the formal dedication of the Purple Heart Memorial Bridge of Jefferson County in Brookville, Pennsylvania on Friday October 26, 2012.
The Act of the General Assembly
PURPLE HEART MEMORIAL BRIDGE OF JEFFERSON COUNTY - DESIGNATION
Act of Jul. 5, 2012,
P.L. 1021, No.118 An Act Cl. 87
Redesignating the bridge on State Route 322 over North Fork Creek in Brookville Borough, Jefferson County, as the Purple Heart Memorial Bridge of Jefferson County.
The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania hereby enacts as follows:
Section 1. Purple Heart Memorial Bridge of Jefferson County. (a) Declaration of policy.--The General Assembly finds and declares as follows:
(1) In 1782, General George Washington created the Badge of Military Merit to honor soldiers wounded or killed in action. The first award was given to three soldiers in Newburgh, New York.
(2) The current award, which is officially named the Military Order of the Purple Heart, was developed by General Douglas MacArthur in 1932.
(3) The Purple Heart is awarded under the name of the President of the United States to members of the United States Armed Forces who are wounded by an instrument of war in the hands of the enemy or posthumously to the next of kin in the name of those who are killed in action or die of wounds received in action.
(4) To date, the Purple Heart has been awarded to more than 1.7 million individuals who have served in World War I, World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Persian Gulf War, Operation Enduring Freedom or Operation Iraqi Freedom.
(5) Jefferson County is home to many current and former members of the United States Armed Forces, including numerous Purple Heart recipients, who have served their local community and their country with distinction and honor.
(b) Redesignation.--The bridge carrying State Route 322 over North Fork Creek in Brookville Borough, Jefferson County, known as the Blake's Hardware Bridge, is redesignated as the Jefferson County Purple Heart 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.
Section 2. Effective date.
This act shall take effect in 60 days.
