Section 51. Private Edward J. Stambaugh Memorial Bridge.
(a) Findings.--The General Assembly finds and declares as follows:
(1) Edward John Stambaugh was born February 24, 1923, in York.
(2) Private Stambaugh was a member of the Holtzschwamm Lutheran Church in Thomasville and participated in Sunday school and the church orchestra.
(3) Private Stambaugh enlisted in the United States Army on September 8, 1942, and completed basic training at Fort McClellan in Alabama and Fort Riley in Kansas.
(4) After completing basic training, Private Stambaugh was assigned to M Company, 116th Infantry Regiment, 29th Infantry Division at Fort Meade, Maryland, and then deployed overseas on December 5, 1943, and was stationed in Weymouth, England.
(5) On June 5, 1944, Private Stambaugh was transported on the USS Charles Carroll for the D-Day invasion and his company was to land in the eighth wave of the Normandy invasion, approximately 57 minutes after the first wave.
(6) On the morning of June 6, 1944, the six Higgins boats of M Company landed on Omaha Beach, which was still under heavy fire from previous waves on the beach.
(7) M Company landed some 1,400 yards to the east of their assigned landing area at the beach section designated East Red and in the 1st Infantry Division's area.
(8) All six boats reached the beach at approximately the same time, with Private Stambaugh and the rest of M Company quickly exiting the boats taking cover behind beach obstacles at the edge of the surf.
(9) While exiting, Boat Team Six was now separated from the rest of M Company and joined a small group of the 116th Regiment and began operations against a nearby German position, killing and capturing the German defenders, allowing more troops to exit the beach and for engineers to fill the anti-tank ditch and to mark minefields.
(10) On June 7, 1944, M Company drove west to clear the remaining German resistance where they encountered heavy artillery fire as they neared Vierville-sur-Mer, France.
(11) On the evening of June 12, 1944, after achieving most of its objectives, M Company crossed the Elle River under light resistance taking the towns of Saint-Clair-sur-l'Elle and Couvains, France.
(12) On June 16, 1944, M Company moved toward Saint-Lo, France, and their advance was met with heavy enemy fire, resulting in casualties.
(13) It was on this day that Private Stambaugh was killed by artillery fire near the village of Couvains, France.
(14) The morning report of M Company on June 16, 1944, listed Private Stambaugh as killed in action.
(15) For his bravery, Private Stambaugh was posthumously awarded a Purple Heart medal and was buried on June 23, 1944, at the La Cambe Cemetery located approximately 6.5 miles west of Omaha Beach and approximately 13 miles north of where Private Stambaugh was killed.
(16) On January 20, 1948, Private Stambaugh's remains, at the request of family, were returned to the United States, and on February 19, 1948, his remains were buried at the Paradise Holtzschwamm Lutheran Church Cemetery in Thomasville.
(b) Designation.--The bridge, identified as Bridge Key 54167, carrying U.S. Route 30 over Paradise Creek between Paradise Township and Jackson Township, York County, is designated the Private Edward J. Stambaugh 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.