The County of Bucks on Tuesday dedicated Bucks County Bridge #220 in Falls Township in honor of Private First Class Edward Nelson Beers, U.S. Marine Corps, a Fairless Hills man killed in action during the Vietnam War.
Beers was on patrol May 23, 1968, in Vietnam’s Quang Tri Province when an enemy explosive device detonated and critically the 20-year-old Marine. With shrapnel wounds to his head, neck and shoulders, Beers’ comrades moved him to the Navy hospital ship USS Sanctuary where he succumbed to his wounds, said officials.
PAVVMF Chair Ed Preston, middle, with surviving family of PFC Edward Nelson Beers
Credit: Bucks County Gov
Just three years before his death, Beers graduated from Pennsbury High School where he ran track and played basketball. He enlisted in the Marine Corps in 1967. Beers was scheduled to return home from his combat tour in 109 days. He is buried in Rosedale Cemetery in Trevose, said James O’Malley, spokesman for Bucks County Government.
The bridge named for Beers crosses Martins Creek along Mill Creek Road in Falls Township. It is the tenth County-owned bridge since 2022 to be named for a local soldier lost in the Vietnam War.
“I’ve said it before but it bears repeating, it has taken us a very, very long time to say thank you and a very long time to try and make it right,” Commissioner Chair Diane Ellis-Marseglia said. “I hope Eddie feels this bridge, and I hope his family feels this bridge makes us a little bit closer to making it right for the sacrifice that all of you have made.”
PAVVMF Chair Ed Preston on Tuesday, June 25, 2024, holds a framed picture of a stained glass window featuring a superimposed portrait of PFC Edward Nelson Beers.
Credit: Bucks County Gov
The dedications are part of the County’s Vietnam Veterans Memorial Bridge Program, which honors the 136 Bucks County residents lost in the Vietnam War. The County administers the program in partnership with Bucks County-based veterans’ advocate Ed Preston, who chairs the Pennsylvania Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund (PAVVMF), according to the government press release.To learn more about the program and the men it is meant to honor, visit BucksCounty.gov/MemorialBridges.
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