Bucks County Bridge #313 in Yardley reopened last week as the Warrant Officer William Warren Breece, Jr. Memorial Bridge.

Breece, of Morrisville, was killed in action Dec. 5, 1968, while serving as a U.S. Army helicopter pilot in Vietnam.

The 20-year-old Pennsbury High School graduate had been in Vietnam for just six weeks when, despite being outnumbered and already severely wounded, he initiated an attack to aid friendly soldiers on the ground. While on his attack run, Breece was struck and mortally wounded by an enemy round.

“In his final moments, Warrant Officer Breece displayed a bravery and commitment to his countrymen that should inspire us all,” said Commissioner Chair Bob Harvie. “We are immensely grateful for his service, and for the opportunity to make this small piece of his hometown a permanent part of his legacy.”

The county-owned bridge dedicated in Breece’s memory crosses the Delaware Canal at Letchworth Avenue, Yardley. It is the fourth bridge dedicated to the memory of a fallen Vietnam soldier as part of a project, administered in partnership local veterans’ advocate Ed Preston, meant to honor Bucks County residents who died in the Vietnam War.

For his “quick thinking, aggressive action and extraordinary heroism in close combat,” Breece was posthumously awarded the Silver Star. He is credited with saving numerous friendly lives.

Breece is buried in Newtown Cemetery.