HARRISBURG – A Potter County bridge will be named in honor of a local World War II veteran under legislation introduced by Rep. Martin Causer (R-Turtlepoint) and now awaiting the governor’s signature.
The bill would designate the bridge on State Route 4021 over the Honeoye Creek in Sharon Township the Tec 5 C. Virgil Voorhees Memorial Bridge. Voorhees grew up in a home on Honeoye Road just outside of Shinglehouse.
“It is important to memorialize the men and women from our region who served our country and gave their lives for our freedoms,” Causer said. “We owe it to brave soldiers like Virgil Voorhees to never forget their sacrifice.”
Voorhees served as a driver and radioman for the first platoon headquarters of Battery A, 155th Airborne Anti-Aircraft Battalion, United States Army. On March 24, 1945, he was killed
instantly by enemy artillery fire as he was driving his jeep across open terrain in Germany.
Causer introduced House Bill 1754 to name the bridge at the request of Voorhees’ family and with the support of local officials and Shinglehouse American Legion Post 530. The bill was then amended into House Bill 1547, which is now awaiting the governor’s approval to become law.
