THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA

HOUSE BILL

INTRODUCED BY K. SMITH, BRENNAN, CALTAGIRONE, DALEY, DENLINGER, DiGIROLAMO, DONATUCCI, FABRIZIO, FLECK, GABLER, GEORGE, GOODMAN, GROVE, HALUSKA, HENNESSEY, HESS, KORTZ, KULA, MAHONEY, MAJOR, MANN, MILLARD, PASHINSKI, RAVENSTAHL, READSHAW, ROAE, ROCK, SAINATO, SONNEY, STABACK, YOUNGBLOOD AND GILLEN, SEPTEMBER 19, 2011

REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION, SEPTEMBER 19, 2011  

AN ACT

Designating the Davis Street Bridge over Interstate 81 in Moosic

Borough, Lackawanna County, as the Andrew and Durando Pompey

Memorial Bridge.

The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

hereby enacts as follows:

WHEREAS, Staff Sergeant Andrew A. Pompey was born on May 1,

1917, in the Minooka section of Scranton; and

WHEREAS, Staff Sergeant Pompey enlisted in the United States

Army within days following the attack on Pearl Harbor; and

WHEREAS, Upon completion of parachute training, Staff

Sergeant Pompey was assigned to the 504th Parachute Infantry

Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division; and

WHEREAS, Staff Sergeant Pompey participated in combat jumps

in Italy and Sicily; and

WHEREAS, The 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment was assigned

to the January 22, 1944, invasion of Anzio, Italy, where they

earned the nickname "Devils in Baggy Pants"; and

WHEREAS, While leading his squad in an assault of a bridge

spanning the Mussolini Canal near Sassano, Staff Sergeant Pompey

was killed by enemy artillery; and

WHEREAS, Staff Sergeant Pompey is interred in the Italian

American Cemetery adjacent to Davis Street in Scranton near the

bridge being designated by this act; and

WHEREAS, Private First Class Durando J. Pompey was born on

September 15, 1921, in the Minooka section of Scranton; and 

WHEREAS, Private First Class Pompey enlisted in the United

States Army and was inducted on September 7, 1942; and

WHEREAS, Private First Class Pompey was assigned to the 119th

Infantry Regiment, 30th Infantry Division, known as "Old

Hickory"; and

WHEREAS, Shortly after landing on Omaha Beach in June 1944,

during an attack through the French hedgerows country toward

Point Hebert and St. Lo, Private First Class Pompey was killed

by an enemy artillery barrage; and

WHEREAS, Private First Class Pompey is interred in the

American Cemetery on Long Island, New York; and

WHEREAS, Staff Sergeant Pompey and Private First Class Pompey

were posthumously awarded the Purple Heart.

The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

hereby enacts as follows:

Section 1.  Andrew and Durando Pompey Memorial Bridge.

(a)  Designation.--The Davis Street Bridge over Interstate 81

in Moosic Borough, Lackawanna County, is designated the Andrew

and Durando Pompey Memorial Bridge.

(b)  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.

Section 2.  Effective date.

This act shall take effect in 60 days.