SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 15

(By Senators Maynard, Stollings, Woelfel and Plymale)

[Introduced January 29, 2015]

Requesting Division of Highways name bridge number 50-52-54.27 (50A115) (37.85563, -82.41411), locally known as Marrowbone Creek Bridge, carrying US 52 over Marrowbone Creek in Wayne County, as the “U.S. Army SFC Jesse Muncy Memorial Bridge”.

Whereas, Sergeant First Class Muncy was born in Mingo County on September 15, 1921, the son of Jeff and Sally (Sallie) Muncy. Growing up in Kermit with his sisters Lucy (later Marcum), Dicie (Hodge) and Mary (Waller), and his brother Birdie, he attended local schools through the elementary grades; and

Whereas, Following his July 17, 1941, enlistment, Sergeant First Class Muncy married Loda Lowe, with whom he had three children, Clyde, Sally (“Dot”) and Peggy Carol; and

Whereas, Serving with the Company G, 13th Infantry Regiment, 8th Infantry, Sergeant First Class Muncy received a Silver Star for gallantry in action on April 9, 1945, when, in the vicinity of Olpe, Germany, his company encountered two German tanks during an attack and Sergeant First Class Muncy, along with four other men, knocked out the tanks; and

Whereas, On October 15, 1945, Sergeant First Class Muncy received the Silver Star. The citation reads, "By direction of the President, under the provisions of AR 600-45, 22 September 1943, as amended, the Silver Star is awarded to: Staff Sergeant Jesse Muncy, 35210666, Infantry, Company G, 13th Infantry Regiment, for gallantry in action on 9 April 1945 in the vicinity of Olpe, Germany.  When his company encountered two German tanks during an attack, Sergeant Muncy, with four other men, proceeded into enemy lines in an attempt to knock out the tanks. Under direct enemy small arms, machine gun and tank fire, Sergeant Muncy, after directing his men to give him covering fire, maneuvered to within fifty yards of an enemy tank and, firing three rounds from his bazooka, knocked out the tank, captured seven enemy soldiers and wounded five others.  Moving alone to another position, Sergeant Muncy placed fire upon a German convoy, capturing 23 enemy soldiers.  Sergeant Muncy’s outstanding courage and devotion to duty were in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service.  Entered the military service from West Virginia”; and

Whereas, Sergeant First Class Muncy also received the Good Conduct Medal, the American Defense Service Medal, and the European-African-Middle Eastern Theater Service Medal, as well as a Bronze Star for heroic and meritorious service; and

Whereas, After his honorable discharge on October 18, 1945, Sergeant First Class Muncy returned to southern West Virginia and the coal mines and settled into a seemingly normal life.  But life in the mines had its ups and downs, and when fighting erupted in Korea, Sergeant First Class Muncy willingly reenlisted.  As a decorated war soldier and experienced infantryman, he became a participant in what is now known as “Bloody Ridge” in North Korea during August and September 1951; and

Whereas, Sergeant First Class Muncy was involved in fierce fighting – undoubtedly as harrowing as anything he had seen in World War II – had been going on for months, as reported in the following account: “After securing Hill 773 on the last day of August, the 9th Infantry struck anew at the two remaining peaks on ‘Bloody Ridge’, Hills 983 and 900. The hilly terrain made any forward movement difficult, to say the least, and the intense fighting had scorched the earth.  But the 9th Infantry persevered: Dirty, unshaven, and miserable they backed down, tried again, circled, climbed, slid, suffered, ran, rolled, crouched and grabbed upward only to meet again the murderous fire, the blast of mortar and whine of bullets and jagged fragments.  Minutes seemed like hours, hours like days, and days like one long, terrible, dusty, blood-swirled night-mare  shivering  at night, sweat clogged at day”; and

Whereas, It was in this hard-fought battle that Sergeant First Class Muncy lost his life on September 1, 1951.  Sergeant First Class Muncy received a second Silver Star for his service in Korea, as well as the Purple Heart.  His remains were interred in a family cemetery near Kermit on December 18, 1951.  His funeral notice in the Williamson Daily News, December 17, 1951, described him as a “professional soldier”; and

Whereas, On August 10, 1951, less than a month before his death, Sergeant First Class Muncy wrote a letter to his wife and children reiterating his love for them but inserting his uneasy concern for what his unit was about to face: “I will drop you a few lines tonight to let you know I am well and I miss you and the babies a lot.  Honey, I am moving up tonight and we are all pretty quiet.  Nobody has got anything to say, but you can tell [what] they're thinking.  Some of them are worried some, and I am for one, but they don't know it, and honey I am thinking of you and the babies and if I will get to see you anymore... Well, honey, if this should be the last letter, take good care of the babies and keep them together and tell them that I love them....So tell all the family hello and answer real soon, and tell Mom hello for me. So I will close with all my love... P.S. Take good care of my pup.  Love, Dad”; and

Whereas, Sergeant First Class Muncy’s widow, Loda Muncy, never remarried, preferring to raise her “babies” in the home where they planned to spend the rest of their lives.  In a 2013 interview, Sally (“Dot”) explained that she and Peggy Carol worked for many years at an Ohio packing plant. Peggy still lives in that state while Dot has returned in her retirement to the old home place on Jennie’s Creek in Wayne County.  Clyde, not yet retired, still works at a machine shop In Kenova.  The family is determined that the legacy of Sergeant First Class Muncy and Lode Muncy not be forgotten and they recall with pride that anyone who claims to have met Sergeant First Class Muncy during his years in the service has offered thanks for his selfless sacrifice; and

Whereas, It is fitting that an enduring memorial be established to commemorate U.S. Army Sergeant First Class Muncy, a native son who gave the ultimate sacrifice for his state and his country, by naming bridge number 50-52-54.27 (50A115) (37.85563, -82.41411), locally known as Marrowbone Creek Bridge, carrying US 52 over Marrowbone Creek in Wayne County, as the “U.S. Army SFC Jesse Muncy Memorial Bridge”; therefore, be it

Resolved by the Senate:

That the Division of Highways name bridge number 50-52-54.27 (50A115) (37.85563, -82.41411), locally known as Marrowbone Creek Bridge, carrying US 52 over Marrowbone Creek in Wayne County, as the “U.S. Army SFC Jesse Muncy Memorial Bridge”; and, be it

Further Resolved, That the Division of Highways is hereby requested to have made and be placed signs identifying the bridge as the “U.S. Army SFC Jesse Muncy Memorial Bridge”; and, be it

Further Resolved, That the Clerk of the Senate is hereby directed to forward a copy of this resolution to the Commissioner of the Division of Highways and to the family members of U.S. Army Sergeant First Class Jesse Muncy.