Committee Report

March 05, 2024

H. 4905

Introduced by Rep. Gilliam

S. Printed 03/05/24--H.

Read the first time January 23, 2024

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The committee on House Invitations and Memorial Resolutions

To whom was referred a Concurrent Resolution (H. 4905) to request the Department of Transportation name the bridge located at the intersection of South Carolina Highway 9 and South Carolina Highway 49 in Union County, etc., respectfully

Report:

That they have duly and carefully considered the same, and recommend that the same do pass:

DENNIS MOSS for Committee.

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A concurrent RESOLUTION

to request the department of transportation name the bridge located at the intersection of south carolina highway 9 and south carolina highway 49 in union county "PFC franklin leroy barber bridge" and erect appropriate signs or markers at this location containing these words.

Whereas, born January 25, 1946, in Saluda, N.C., Private First Class Franklin Leroy Barber was a son of Mary Azalee Gibson Ashe and the late Loomis Franklin Barber, a World War II veteran. At an early age the family moved to Lockhart, South Carolina, where he graduated from Lockhart High School and attended Bullock Creek Presbyterian Church in Sharon; and

Whereas, according to his mother, he was a nice boy who loved baseball and never gave her any trouble. He was working with a local contractor when he was drafted into the Marines in November 1965; and

Whereas, he was home on a thirty-day furlough before being sent to Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton in California. He was there for a few days before going to Vietnam; and

Whereas, Barber had scarcely been battle-tested before leaving for overseas duty on July 9, 1966. He loved being a marine and was serving as a rifleman in Company C Battalion Landing Team 1/26. Just thirteen days into his assignment he died from gunshot wounds received in combat during Operation Deckhouse III. He'd been scheduled to depart from South Vietnam for the Philippines the next day; and

Whereas, PFC Barber was buried in the cemetery at Bullock Creek Presbyterian. On August 30, 1966, Barber and another Marine killed in Operation Deckhouse III were commemorated in a service aboard the USS Iwo Jima. He also is honored on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., and the South Carolina State Vietnam War Memorial in Columbia; and

Whereas, it is only fitting and proper that this son of the Palmetto State, who paid the ultimate sacrifice in defense of his country, be honored with a landmark in Union County by having a bridge named in his memory. Now, therefore,

Be it resolved by the House of Representatives, the Senate concurring:

That the members of the South Carolina General Assembly, by this resolution, request the Department of Transportation name the bridge located at the intersection of South Carolina Highway 9 and South Carolina Highway 49 in Union County "PFC Franklin Leroy Barber Memorial Bridge" and erect appropriate signs or markers at this location containing these words.

Be it further resolved that a copy of this resolution be forwarded to the Department of Transportation.

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