Section 22. Potchak Brothers Memorial Bridge.
(a) Findings.--The General Assembly finds and declares as follows:
(1) Stephen Potchak, John Potchak, Michael Potchak, Frank Potchak, Charles Potchak and Peter Potchak were brothers.
(2) Stephen Potchak was born February 18, 1914, in Wilmore, Cambria County, and attended Wilmore High School.
(3) He was drafted into the United States Army on February 5, 1942, and served during World War II.
(4) Stephen Potchak served as a Medical Administrative Specialist in the Army Air Corps and received the following awards and recognitions: American Campaign Medal, Good Conduct Medal and World War II Victory Medal.
(5) He was honorably discharged from the United States Army with the rank of Staff Sergeant on December 1, 1946, at Andrews Field in Washington, DC.
(6) After the war, Stephen Potchak was employed for a time at Saint Francis University before working as a coal miner in Wilmore. Later in life, Stephen moved to Philadelphia, where he worked as a laborer for the Budd Company before working as a locomotive operator for more than 30 years at US Steel, from which he retired.
(7) Stephen Potchak passed away on March 28, 1994, and is buried at Resurrection Cemetery in Bensalem, Bucks County.
(8) John Potchak was born September 18, 1918, in Wilmore and attended Wilmore High School.
(9) He enlisted in the United States Navy on June 19, 1939, and served during World War II.
(10) John Potchak was assigned to the following vessels and stations: Naval Training Station Newport, Rhode Island; USS Helena; USS Ticonderoga (CV-14); and USS Cabot.
(11) He was assigned to the USS Helena during the attack on Pearl Harbor but was not on board during the attack.
(12) John Potchak received the following awards and recognitions: Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with nine stars; American Campaign Medal; American Defense Service Medal with one star; Philippine Liberation Medal with one star; Good Conduct Medal; World War II Victory Medal; Navy Unit Commendation Ribbon Bar; and Philippine Presidential Unit Citation.
(13) He was honorably discharged from the United States Navy with the rank of Chief Electrician's Mate on November 28, 1945, at the United States Naval Personnel Separation Center in Sampson, New York.
(14) After the war, John Potchak worked as an engineer at the Johnsville Naval Air Development Center in Warminster, Bucks County, was a lifetime member of the Warminster Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 6493 in Warminster and was a dedicated member of his church, Saint Cyril of Jerusalem Catholic Church, in Jamison, Bucks County. He enjoyed hunting and fishing in his free time.
(15) John Potchak passed away on May 12, 2010, and is buried at Saint John Neumann Cemetery in Chalfont, Bucks County.
(16) Michael Potchak was born October 15, 1920, in Wilmore and attended Wilmore High School.
(17) He enlisted in the United States Navy on December 15, 1942, and served during World War II.
(18) Michael Potchak was assigned to the following vessels and stations: USS Bataan and U.S. Naval Training Center Bainbridge, Maryland.
(19) He received the following awards and recognitions: Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with five stars; American Campaign Medal; Good Conduct Medal; World War II Victory Medal; Philippines Liberation Medal; and Imperium Neptuni Regis.
(20) Michael Potchak was honorably discharged from the United States Navy with the rank of Electrician's Mate First Class on March 5, 1946, at the U.S. Naval Personnel Separation Center in Bainbridge, Maryland.
(21) After the war, he worked for and retired from US Steel in Johnstown, Cambria County, where he was an electrical foreman.
(22) Michael Potchak passed away on February 2, 2009, and is buried at the Richland Mausoleum in Johnstown.
(23) Frank Potchak was born November 13, 1922, in Wilmore and attended Wilmore High School.
(24) He enlisted in the United States Navy on February 23, 1943, and served during World War II.
(25) Frank Potchak was assigned to the following vessels and stations: USS Kalinin Bay; U.S. Naval Training and Distribution Center Shoemaker, California; S.S. Jacob Luckenbach; S.S. Janet Lord Roper; U.S. Navy Armed Guard Center Brooklyn, New York; U.S. Navy Armed Guard Center Little Creek, Virginia; and U.S. Naval Training Station Sampson, New York.
(26) He received the following awards and recognitions: American Campaign Medal; European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal; Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal; World War II Victory Medal; and Good Conduct Medal.
(27) Frank Potchak was honorably discharged from the United States Navy with the rank of Seaman First Class on February 17, 1946, at the U.S. Naval Personnel Separation Center in Sampson, New York.
(28) After the war, he married his wife, Evelyn, and later, they and their children moved to Bucks County, where he worked at U-Haul for 28 years.
(29) Frank Potchak passed away on November 5, 2000, and is buried at Saint John Neumann Cemetery in Chalfont.
(30) Charles Potchak was born December 26, 1924, in Wilmore and attended Wilmore High School.
(31) He enlisted in the United States Army on July 12, 1943, and served during World War II.
(32) Charles Potchak was assigned to Battery C, 55th Field Artillery Battalion and fought in the New Guinea Campaign and the Battle of Luzon.
(33) He received the following awards and recognitions: Good Conduct Medal; Philippines Liberation Medal with one Bronze Star; American Campaign Medal; Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with two Bronze Stars; and World War II Victory Medal.
(34) Charles Potchak was honorably discharged from the United States Army with the rank of Corporal on February 9, 1946, at the Indiantown Gap Military Reservation, Lebanon County.
(35) After the war, he worked in a mine in Beaverdale, Cambria County, and was later employed at US Steel in Johnstown. He married the former Dorothy Mitchell and they raised four children in the Beaverdale-Sidman area of Cambria County.
(36) Charles Potchak passed away on February 20, 2012, and is buried at St. Michael Cemetery in St. Michael, Cambria County.
(37) Peter Potchak was born July 1, 1926, in Wilmore and attended Wilmore High School.
(38) He was drafted into the United States Army on November 15, 1944, and served during World War II.
(39) Peter Potchak was assigned to Headquarters Company, 86th Chemical Mortar Battalion and fought in the Rhineland Campaign.
(40) He received the following awards and recognitions: Distinguished Unit Badge with Oak Leaf Cluster; Good Conduct Medal; World War II Victory Medal; and European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with one Bronze Service Star.
(41) Peter Potchak was honorably discharged from the United States Army with the rank of Technician Fifth Grade on December 29, 1945, at the Separation Center in Fort Knox, Kentucky.
(42) After the war, he returned home to Wilmore, took care of his father until his father's death, worked for and retired from US Steel in Johnstown and was last employed as an electrical stores keeper. He was a member of American Legion Post 430, a charter member of the Wilmore Volunteer Fire Company and a member of the former GBU: Summer Hill, now a district of the GBU Foundation.
(43) Peter Potchak passed away on May 9, 1998, and is buried at Saints Peter and Paul Cemetery in Portage, Cambria County.
(b) Designation.--The bridge, identified as Bridge Key 8430, carrying Pennsylvania Route 160 over the North Branch Little Conemaugh River in the borough of Wilmore, Cambria County, is designated as the Potchak Brothers 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.