Clarksville bridge named after local Vietnam soldier
Katie Anderson/Observer-Reporter
State Rep. Pam Snyder, left, stands with an honor guard in Clarksville Friday morning during a bridge dedication to a local Vietnam soldier.
Katie Anderson/Observer-Reporter
A Greene County honor guard pays respect to a fallen comrade in Clarksville Friday morning during a bridge dedication to a local Vietnam soldier.
Katie Anderson/Observer-Reporter
Pamela Swan of Ohio speaks at a ceremony dedicating a bridge in Clarksville in memory of her brother, Brent McClellan, a local soldier who died in Vietnam.
Katie Anderson/Observer-Reporter
Rachel Greenlee, great-niece of Brent McClellan, unveils a sign Friday on the Clarskville bridge that was recently named after her uncle, a local soldier who died in Vietnam.
Katie Anderson/Observer-Reporter
A bridge in Clarksville was renamed Friday in memory of Brent McClellan, a local soldier who died in Vietnam.
Clarksville residents, veterans and family and friends of a local hero gathered Friday morning to honor his memory as the newly rebuilt Clarksville bridge was officially named the Pfc. Brent A. McClellan Memorial Bridge.
McClellan, a 1963 graduate of Jefferson-Morgan High school, joined the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War. On Feb. 28, 1966, he was killed in an ambush in South Vietnam, while assigned to the 1st Platoon, B Company, 5th Cavalry in the Army’s 1st Cavalry Division. He received numerous awards for his service.
During an 11 a.m. ceremony at the bridge on Castile Run Road over Ten Mile Creek, McClellan’s sister, Pamela Swan of Ohio, spoke about her “precious brother,” whom she called an “All-American boy” who loved his girlfriend, his car and fishing in the creek. She told the crowd that McClellan didn’t want to go to Vietnam.
“But I’ll never forget these words he told me: ‘I might not be a flag-waving hero, but I’m not a coward, either,'” Swan said.
State Rep. Pam Snyder, D-Jefferson, had introduced the bill in the state House two years ago to have the bridge named after McClellan. She told the crowd that McClellan went to school with her brother.
“I was 11 years old when Brent was killed,” she said. “I remember how it rocked my family and the community when we heard that he had made the ultimate sacrifice. I always remembered the name Brent McClellan.”
Both Snyder and state Sen. Camera Bartolotta,R-Carroll, thanked the other veterans present at the ceremony, including other Vietnam veterans who went to high school with McClellan.
“Every single time someone passes over this bridge, we want them to know what it stands for,” Bartolotta said. “A soldier dies twice – once on the battlefield and once the last time his name is said out loud. We want everyone to know Brent’s name and say it out loud every time they pass this bridge.”
Swan challenged the audience to “not forget the other 58,220” U.S. military members who died in Vietnam. She also thanked them for honoring her brother by naming the bridge and putting up signs with his name.
“He will always be our hero,” she said.