Section 24. Lieutenant Colonel William A. Rush III Memorial Interchange.
(a) Findings.--The General Assembly finds and declares as follows:
(1) Lieutenant Colonel William Alexander Rush III, born on September 14, 1946, in Kittanning, was a man devoted to God and country.
(2) Lieutenant Colonel Rush's uncle, Orville Dawson, was one of the first members of the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), which was founded in 1943 during World War II. OSS was the predecessor to the Central Intelligence Agency.
(3) Lieutenant Colonel Rush joined the United States Marine Corps and became a pilot after graduating from flight school in Pensacola, Florida.
(4) In September 1971, then Lieutenant Rush was sent to Marine Corps Air Station Futenma, Ginowan, Okinawa, Japan, and went on to serve from January 1972 through February 1972 in Vietnam, where he survived being shot down three times. Due to the confidential nature of his assignments, the time he spent serving his country in Vietnam was kept secret for 46 years.
(5) As a young Marine officer, Lieutenant Rush was often called on to perform duties that were of a classified nature by the intelligence community.
(6) After leaving the United States Marine Corps in 1975, then Captain Rush attended seminary school in Gettysburg. Captain Rush later joined the United States Air Force, serving active duty and in the reserves, where he rose to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel as a chaplain.
(7) In the wake of the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, Lieutenant Colonel Rush again volunteered to serve his country and went on active duty. He was assigned to Tyndall Air Force Base in Florida, where he served as senior chaplain of the 1st Air Force. Much like his previous service, Lieutenant Colonel Rush had access to confidential material and sat in on all security briefings. As a result, Lieutenant Colonel Rush was not permitted to communicate with his family.
(8) Lieutenant Colonel Rush was a direct blood descendent of Dr. Benjamin Rush, a Founding Father of the United States of America and signer of the Declaration of Independence.
(9) Lieutenant Colonel Rush passed away March 2, 2021, at home in Indiana, Pennsylvania.
(10) Lieutenant Colonel William Alexander Rush III's service to his country, much of which remains a secret due to the confidential nature of his service, deserves to be recognized.
(b) Designation.--The interchange of U.S. Route 119 with U.S. Route 422 in White Township, Indiana County, is designated the Lieutenant Colonel William A. Rush III Memorial Interchange.
(c) Signs.--The Department of Transportation shall erect and maintain appropriate signs displaying the name of the interchange to traffic in both directions on the interchange.