Indiana County motorists who travel on Route 56, between Armagh and Brush Valley, now know they are crossing the Blacklick Creek on the Specialist Beverly S. Clark Memorial Bridge.

State officials on Tuesday dedicated the span — formerly known as the Buena Vista Bridge — to the East Wheatfield Township native and graduate of nearby United High School. She was killed, at 23, while serving in the Middle East during Operation Desert Storm.

Clark was among 13 members of the Hempfield-based 14th Quartermaster Detachment water purification unit who died Feb. 25, 1991, when an Iraqi Scud missile struck their barracks at Dhahran, Saudi Arabia.

A scholarship at Indiana University of Pennsylvania named for Clark is awarded annually to a student who is preparing for a teaching career.

Clark’s family members attended Tuesday’s program at Yellow Creek State Park, as did the loved ones of three other Indiana County natives who were killed in action in previous conflicts and also had local bridges named in their honor:

• PFC Ralph E. Dias Memorial Bridge, on Route 422 over Yellow Creek in Cherryhill Township.

A Medal of Honor recipient, Dias, of Shelocta, served in Company D, 1st Battalion, 7th Marines, 1st Marine Division, Fleet Marine Force in Vietnam. He was killed on Nov. 12, 1969, at age 19, in combat in Quang Nam Province, Vietnam.

• PFC Martin J. Popson Memorial Bridge, on Route 403 over Dixon Run in Clymer.

Popson, of Penn Run, served in the Army in World War II. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, the nation’s second highest medal, for extraordinary heroism in action during the liberation of Manila.

• Private Chancy Franklin Davis Memorial Bridge, on Route 553 over Dutch Run in Pine Township.

A native of Alverda, Indiana County, Davis served with the 3rd Marine Division in the Pacific Theater of World War II. He was killed on Nov. 20, 1943, at age 19, in the Battle of Piva Forks, while defending against a Japanese counterattack against American landings at Torakina Bay in the Solomon Islands.

Legislation to rename the bridges was approved in 2019. State Sen. Joe Pittman said he worked with state Rep. Jim Struzzi and previous area legislators to honor the fallen service members and “their families that have paid such a heavy price in the defense of freedom.”

Tuesday’s joint dedication for all four bridges was held after the covid-19 pandemic prevented officials from holding an individual ceremony for each of the spans.

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