hcr35 as amended
House Concurrent Resolution 35 History
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HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 35
(By Mr. Speaker, Mr. Thompson, and Delegates
Perdue and Stephens)
Requesting the Division of Highways to name the Dickson beam-span
bridge, crossing Twelve Pole Creek, on Route 152, Dickson,
West Virginia, identification #50-152-3839 (3542), the "Noah
Stephens Bridge."
Whereas, Noah Stephens was born February 29, 1924, the tenth
child of Tolbert and Effie Stephens, in Wayne County, West
Virginia. Noah's father was a hardworking farmer and his mother
was a midwife who traveled the county helping mothers in
childbirth; and
Whereas, Noah Stephens's work ethic and resiliency were forged
early growing up as a child in the Great Depression, and then put
to the test in World War II when Japan attacked Pearl Harbor on
December 7, 1941; and
Whereas, Two months before graduating high school, Noah
Stephens, after turning eighteen, rode a bus to Columbus, enlisted
in the Army, and earned a GED in bootcamp; and
Whereas, Noah Stephens was shipped out to England, eventually
landing in France in June, 1944, for the Normandy D-Day invasion;
and
Whereas, After the breakthrough in Normandy, Noah Stephens was assigned to the 94th Infantry Division, 302 Regiment, Company L,
Second Platoon in Le Havre, France, where he began fighting his way
into Germany; and
Whereas, On December 16, 1944, the Germans launched a surprise
counter-offensive, known as the Battle of the Bulge, which took the
allies completely by surprise. The Germans hit the center of the
allied lines at the thinly held Ardennes with over a quarter of a
million men; and
Whereas, Within eight days the Germans had cut deeply into
allied territory. Noah and his platoon were surrounded for eleven
days. At times, the temperature dipped to minus thirty-five
degrees below zero. Their food supply dwindled to seven cans of C-
rations. The men were forced to lay low, taking shelter in
foxholes dug from the frozen solid earth; and
Whereas, On Friday, February 16, 1945, the Wayne County News
published the following account: "Mr. and Mrs. Tolbert Stevens
(sic) have received word that their son, Pvt. Noah Stevens (sic),
has been missing in action in France since January 21. He had been
in service about 2 years"; and
Whereas, In fact, Noah and twenty other men had survived enemy
fire, hunger and the bitter cold, to cross the enemy lines and make
it back to allied territory. The surviving twenty three men were
sent to a hospital in Birmingham, England, where eighteen of them
required amputations due to extreme frostbite. Noah was so badly frostbitten he was scheduled to have both feet amputated. He
refused, later healed, and became one of only five men in his
entire platoon to not undergo an amputation; and
Whereas, Believing their son, Noah Stephens, had been dead
since January, his parents were overjoyed to receive a letter from
him in March relating his struggle and improbable survival; and
Whereas, On March 30, 1945, the Wayne County News ran an
updated article on Noah Stephens being awarded the Silver Star and
Combat Infantry Badge for his gallantry in action in an attack on
the town of Tettington, Germany, with the 94th Infantry Division.
Noah also received the Purple Heart, the Good Conduct Medal, and
three campaign stars for service in Northern France, the Ardennes,
and the Rhineland; and
Whereas, Upon his return from service in World War Two, Noah
Stephens married his sweetheart Lorene Russell and they started a
family. Within a year their first son Lemuel was born, followed by
sons Gary and Delmas and a daughter named Shelia; and
Whereas, In order to provide for his family, Noah began working
in the coal mines, then worked in the factories of Detroit and
Columbus, and finally attended trade school in Huntington, on the
GI Bill, to become a machinist; and
Whereas, Noah Stephens went on in life to become both a
successful family man and businessman, owning his own trucking and
building companies, surviving hardship and family illness and, after more than fifty two years, is still married to, loving and
caring for his wife Lorene; and
Whereas, Imbued by their parents with a strong work ethic, Noah
and Lorene's children have all gone on to become successful
entrepreneurs. It is fitting that they thought to honor their
father, who will be eighty four years old on February 29, 2008, by
seeking to memorialize his honorable life by naming the Dickson
bridge after and dedicating it to him; therefore, be it
Resolved by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That the Legislature hereby requests the Division of Highways
name the Dickson beam-span bridge, crossing Twelve Pole Creek, on
Route 152, Dickson, West Virginia, identification #50-152-3839
(3542), the "Noah Stephens Bridge"; and, be it
Further Resolved, That the Division of Highways is hereby
requested to erect appropriate signage at the entryway of each end
of the bridge; and, be it
Further Resolved, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates
forward certified copies of this resolution to the Commissioner of
Highways, to the Wayne County Commission, and to the family of Noah
Stephens.