Family members, area veterans and neighbors gathered at the bridge on Avenue A in Coudersport in August to dedicate the Commander Philip F. “Jet” Palmatier Memorial Bridge. Commander Palmatier graduated high school with honors and was appointed to the U.S. Naval Academy. A career Navy officer, he was flying a training mission over the Gulf of Mexico when his TA-4 Skyhawk collided with another jet on Dec. 10, 1990. He died at the age of 40. Pictured from left: Chuck Dillon from Sen. Joe Scarnati’s office; Beryle Tate Palmatier, widow of Commander Palmatier; Alfreda Palmatier, mother; Jason Palmatier, son; me; and Potter County Commissioner Paul Heimel. Thank you to American Legion Post 192 for organizing the ceremony.

Family, fellow veterans and members of the community gathered in Shinglehouse on Saturday, July 14, to dedicate the bridge on Sunnyside Road over the Oswayo Creek as the Pvt. Malon Stanley Memorial Bridge. Pvt. Stanley was drafted into the United States Army at the start of World War II and served in the 1st Cavalry Division. He was among the forces that stormed Leyte Island under the command of Gen. Douglas MacArthur and was killed in action in 1944 while providing cover for his fellow troops who were ordered to retreat. He was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart for his service. I was honored to sponsor the legislation that named the bridge. Below, I am pictured with Charles and Estella Stanley, brother and sister-in-law to Pvt. Stanley.