Photo | Jerry Fekete
Pictured are family members, friends and House of Delegate members Rupert “Rupert” Phillips and Ralph Rodighiero attending the bridge dedications held Saturday, April 14, on Buffalo Creek Road.
Several local bridges were dedicated to honor the memory of four residents last week.
On Sunday, April 15, a bridge at Laurel Creek was dedicated in the memory of Brittany Nicole Dentro, 18, of Lenore. Denitro, a senior at Logan High School, died in a two-vehicle accident April 20, 2009. The senate’s resolution stated that Brittany loved spending time with her family and was diagnosed with juvenile diabetes when she was 8-years-old. She attended a diabetes camp in Wheeling and Charleston and eventually became a counselor to help others with children diagnosed with diabetes. The bridge was dedicated by a senate concurrent resolution, pushed forward by State Sen. H. Truman Chafin.
Three bridges in the Amherstdale/Proctor Bottom area were dedicated as Veteran’s Memorial Bridges on Saturday April 14. The bridges were named in honor of Robert “Bobby” Lohr, Chester Fields Sr. and Donald Bragg.
The Resolutions were passed in the House of Delegates and were sponsored by Delegates Rupie Phillips, Ralph Rodighiero, Greg Butcher and Josh Stowers. The Resolutions were read at the home of Eunice Bragg, widow of Don Bragg, in Proctor Bottom.
The bridge named “Donald J. Bragg Memorial Bridge” is located on Buffalo Creek Road at the Braeholm Straight Stretch. Bragg enlisted in the U.S. Army at age 23 and served his country for nine years. During his military service, he was stationed at Fort Knox, Ky., Fort Devens, Mass., Fort Riley, Kan., and the 38th parallel in Korea. Bragg was called to serve his country in the Republic of Vietnam in January 1967 until January 1968 as a Combat Engineer assigned to the 20th Engineer Brigade. He distinguished himself during his tour in Vietnam through tireless devotion to duty and gallantry, receiving The Bronze Star Medal for Meritorious Achievement in Ground Operations Against Hostile Forces in that conflict. He also received The National Defense Service Medal, Vietnam Service Medal with Bronze Star attachment, Republic of Vietnam Campaign Ribbon with device (1960), The Good Conduct Medal and Expert Rifle. After his tour in Vietnam, Donald was assigned to burial detail as a Non-Commissioned Officer in charge of the burial of Killed in Action servicemen returning from Vietnam. He was honorably discharged from active duty on March 5, 1969, as an E-6 Staff Sergeant. Bragg was a Disabled Vietnam veteran and a proud lifetime member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars.
The “Cpl. Robert F. Lohr Memorial Bridge” is located on Buffalo Creek Road at the east end of Proctor Bottom Road at Amherstdale. Lohr was a member of Company M, 3rd Battalion, 31st Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division during the Korean War and was killed in action while fighting the enemy in the Chosin Reservoir, Eastern Shore, North Korea on December 3, 1950. His remains were not recovered.
The “Chester William Fields Sr. Memorial Bridge” is located at Lower Proctor Bottom on Buffalo Creek Road. Fields was inducted into the U.S. Army October 24, 1942 and attained the rank of Private First Class. Fields was wounded in Germany on June 23, 1945 and was awarded the Purple Heart Medal, the Good Conduct Medal, the Meritorious Unit Award, the American Theater Ribbon, the European-African-Middle Eastern Theater Ribbon and the World War II Victory Ribbon.
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A report by Chad Abshire with the Williamson Daily News contributed to this article.
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Martha Sparks can be reached at 304-752-6950, ext. 308 or by email at msparks@loganbanner.com
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