Section 2. Duster-Quad 50-Searchlight Highway.
(a) Findings.--The General Assembly finds and declares as follows:
(1) Dusters, quad .50s and searchlights were weapons used by the United States Army, grouped together as separate small units and deployed to Vietnam starting in 1966 and ending in 1972.
(2) Duster was the nickname given to a weapon mounted on a tank chassis with two 40 mm guns mounted on top.
(3) Quad 50 was the nickname for a weapon that had four .50 caliber machine guns mounted on the back of a two-and-one-half ton truck.
(4) Searchlights provided white light and infrared illumination to assist the United States Army in the defense of combat bases at night.
(5) Several hundred soldiers from this Commonwealth served in units heavily armed with dusters, quad .50s and searchlights.
(6) The 1st Battalion, 44th Artillery, with Battery G of the 65th Artillery and Battery G of the 29th Artillery attached, was the highest decorated unit of its size to fight in the Vietnam War.
(7) As a unit equipped with dusters, quad .50s and searchlights, the unit was awarded more than 450 medals for valor, including the Medal of Honor, and was awarded more than 1,000 Purple Hearts.
(8) During the Vietnam War, units equipped with dusters, quad .50s and searchlights suffered the loss of 211 soldiers, including five soldiers from this Commonwealth.
(b) Designation.--The portion of Pennsylvania Route 144 beginning at the intersection of Pennsylvania Route 26 in Pleasant Gap and ending at the intersection of Pennsylvania Route 45 in Centre Hall, Centre County, is designated the Duster-Quad 50-Searchlight Highway.
(c) Signs.--The Department of Transportation shall erect and maintain appropriate signs displaying the name of the highway to traffic in both directions on the highway.