HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 56

(By Delegate Hanshaw (Mr. Speaker)

[February 9, 2022]

Requesting the Division of Highways name a bridge bearing the bridge number: 08-036/01-000.04  () (08A063), (38.55377,-81.12988) locally known as Laurel Fork Bridge, carrying CR 36/1 over Laurel Fork of Camp Run in Clay County, West Virginia as the “Roy Lee Shamblin Memorial Bridge.”

Whereas, Roy Lee Shamblin was born on January 26, 1917, in Blue Knob, West Virginia to Melvin and Addie Drake Shamblin, into a family of three boys and six girls; and

Whereas, Roy Lee Shamblin and his family moved to Wallback, West Virginia in 1918; and

Whereas, Roy Lee Shamblin, as a young boy, spent his time helping his family on the farm taking care of the farm animals and working the gardens and hay field in the summer; and

Whereas, Roy Lee Shamblin attended school in a one-room schoolhouse with coal burning stoves for heat; and

Whereas, Roy Lee Shamblin married Balance Rogers on March 24, 1940, and they were the parents of six children; and

Whereas, Roy Lee Shamblin was drafted into the United States Army on December 27, 1943, during World War II as a Military Duty Soldier III 590, receiving his Basic Training at Fort Meade, Maryland, and then onto Gainesville Florida for Advanced Infantry Training (AIT), with qualifications including the MKM M1 Rifle before being deployed overseas; and

Whereas, Roy Lee Shamblin began his entry into Active Service on January 14, 1944, as a Technician Fifth Grade with the 790^th Engineer Petroleum Distribution Company under the direction of Lt. Col. AGD Richard C. O’Connell; and

Whereas, Roy Lee Shamblin, as part of his battalion, was stationed in Rome, Southern France, and Germany in Central Europe; and

Whereas, Roy Lee Shamblin, during his time in service, received the Good Conduct Medal, European African Middle Eastern Theater Ribbon, and the World War II Victory Ribbon; and

Whereas, Roy Lee Shamblin was discharged from the United States Army on January 1, 1946, at the Separation Center Fort George G. Meade in Maryland; and

Whereas, Roy Lee Shamblin returned to his home in Wallback, West Virginia, where he worked in the coal mines for many years, then ended his working career as a Clay County, West Virginia school bus driver with over 20 years of service; and

Whereas, Sadly, Roy Lee Shamblin passed away on January 26, 1996, at the age of 79 years old, and was buried at the Moore Cemetery, Wallback, West Virginia with Veterans of Foreign Wars military honors; and

Whereas, For these reasons it is fitting and proper that the bridge be named in honor of Roy Lee Shamblin; therefore, be it

Resolved by the Legislature of West Virginia:

That the Division of Highways is hereby requested to name a bridge bearing the bridge number: 08-036/01-000.04  () (08A063), (38.55377,-81.12988) locally known as Laurel Fork Bridge, carrying CR 36/1 over Laurel Fork of Camp Run in Clay County, West Virginia as the “Roy Lee Shamblin Memorial Bridge;” and, be it

Further Resolved, That the Commissioner of the Division of Highways is requested to erect signs at both ends of the bridge containing bold and prominent letters proclaiming the bridge as the “Roy Lee Shamblin Memorial Bridge”; and, be it

Further Resolved, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates forward a copy of this resolution to the Commissioner of the Division of Highways and to the family of Mr. Shamblin.