Scottdale-Everson bridge named for 2 soldiers killed in Vietnam
The sound of taps carried solemnly over a bridge that connects two communities, where a crowd gathered Saturday to honor two soldiers who died in Vietnam.
The bridge, which links Scottdale and Everson by carrying Brown Street over Jacobs Creek, was named in honor of Staff Sgt. John William Earnesty and Pfc. Joseph Anthony Petrarca at the ceremony.
“The veterans of the Vietnam era did not come home to ticker tape parades and accolades. Today, we're talking about two who did not come home at all,” said state Sen. Pat Stefano, R-Connellsville, who sponsored the legislation to rename the bridge.
Petrarca was from Scottdale, and Earnesty was from Everson. Both were in the Army. Each was the only member of his respective community to die in the Vietnam War.
Earnesty died in 1966 when his armored vehicle detonated a land mine.
A dedicated soldier of 16 years, he had served in Korea before fighting in Vietnam. He was 38 when he died.
His brother, James Earnesty, also was a soldier. The brothers rarely got to meet, though they were both in Korea, James said.
He remembers the time John told him he was headed to Vietnam.
“I didn't get to see him no more,” he said. “He was a great soldier, and a great man.”
Petrarca was 20 when he died in 1968.
“He was a kid. He wasn't even 21 yet.” said Petrarca's platoon commander, Karl Swenson, who attended Saturday's ceremony. “We went into that fight as kids. We came out of it as aged men.”
Swenson was at the battle where Petrarca died. They were among 52 men assigned to defend a hill when more than 500 enemy troops attacked.
Petrarca was in a bunker and kept the enemy under heavy fire, forcing them to shift their attack.
His bunker exploded soon after. He was one of 11 men killed in that battle.
“He kept the rest of us alive,” Swenson said.
Scottdale Councilman Jack Davis had the idea to rename the bridge during a parade in the borough, when the local Boy Scout troop stopped to salute a house.
When he asked why, he learned it belonged to the Petrarca family. He heard Joseph Petrarca's story for the first time, and decided he wanted to do something to honor the fallen soldier.
Around the same time, renovation work began on the bridge on Brown Street, and Davis thought it would be a good opportunity to create a memorial.
Since Scottdale shares the bridge with Everson, he did some research and found out about Earnesty. The two boroughs began collaborating on the project.
Fayette County Commissioner Angela Zimmerlink addressed the Earnesty and Petrarca families, many of whom sat in the front row of folding chairs.
“When we cross this bridge today, tomorrow and in the future, we will never forget the sacrifices of native sons John and Joseph, and the sacrifices of all of you,” she said.
Jacob Tierney is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at jtierney@tribweb.com.
