MEDIA ADVISORY: Burns to host bridge dedication Saturday, June 10 honoring Patton veteran killed in action in Vietnam

Rep. Frank Burns    June 5, 2017

EBENSBURG, June 5 – Honoring a Patton native who gave his life for his country at age 20 while serving with the Army in Vietnam, state Rep. Frank Burns will host a dedication ceremony for the Martin Joseph Davis Memorial Bridge at 10 a.m. Saturday, June 10, formerly the State Route 36 Bridge over Chest Creek.

Born on Aug. 25, 1947, Davis graduated from Cambria Heights High School in 1966. He entered the Army on Nov. 14, 1967 and served as a specialist 4th class with B Company, 3rd Battalion, 21st Infantry, 196th Infantry Brigade. He died during hostile action in Quang Tin province, South Vietnam, on Aug. 2, 1968.

The renaming of the State Route 36 bridge over Chest Creek, in Patton Borough, Cambria County, in Davis’ honor was legislatively initiated by Burns and became law with passage of S.B. 1201 last year.

Davis’ brothers, Charles and Patrick Davis, are among the family members scheduled to attend the ceremony. Ken Letso of Walter McCoy American Legion Post 614 will give the welcome, and the Rev. Father Joseph Fleming of Saint Catherine Catholic Church in Mount Union will provide the invocation.

The honor guard will include representatives from:

  • Fox-Peale American Legion Post 506, Carrolltown.

  • Walter McCoy American Legion Post 614, Patton.

  • John White Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 779, Patton.

  • John Lipple Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 4315, Ashville.

  • Patrick D. Riordan Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1586, Hastings.

  • Ream Miller Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 7783, St. Benedict.

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