Burns’ bill to rename bridge after WWII hero is first to pass House in 2018
Rep. Frank Burns January 24, 2018 | 4:21 PM
HARRISBURG, Jan. 24 – State Rep. Frank Burns, D-Cambria, is applauding his colleagues for unanimously passing his bill to rename a Cambria County bridge after a World War II hero killed in action in 1945. Burns’ legislation is the first bill to pass the House in 2018.
House Bill 1252, which now awaits action in the Senate, would dedicate the bridge on U.S. Route 219 South that spans across Route 22, also known as the Admiral Peary Highway, in Cambria Township to honor Pfc. Nick Kozorosky. As a member of the U.S. Army 101st Airborne Division, he was killed in action near Berchtesgaden, Germany, where Nazi leaders were planning a last stand.
“This veteran rightfully received the Purple Heart for making the ultimate sacrifice,” Burns said. “Now, decades later, my hope is by renaming this bridge the PFC Nick Kozorosky Memorial Bridge, his heroic actions will never be forgotten by the people in Cambria County.”
Burns also previously authored bills that are now part of S.B. 894, to rename bridges after:
-
Trooper Gary Fisher, a member of the Pennsylvania State Police Region V Strike Force who was shot and killed in the line of duty in 1985 while attempting to make an arrest during a drug exchange;
-
Cpl. Robert J. Sherwood, a member of the U.S. Marine Corps who was mortally wounded in Vietnam in 1967 when helping load injured comrades into a medical helicopter; and
-
Paul E. Sweeney, a first sergeant in the U.S. Army in World War II who survived a German sniper’s percussion grenade and later risked his life leading a tank unit through enemy fire. Sweeney passed away in 2016 at the age of 96.
###