PRINTER'S NO. 3356
No. 2378 Session of 2004
INTRODUCED BY GEIST AND McCALL, MARCH 8, 2004
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION, MARCH 8, 2004
AN ACT
1 Designating a portion of State Route 4013 in Blair County as the
2 Jack E. Kuhn Memorial Highway.
3 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
4 hereby enacts as follows:
5 Section 1. Jack E. Kuhn Memorial Highway.
6 (a) Findings.--The General Assembly finds and declares as
7 follows:
8 (1) Jack E. Kuhn was born on June 10, 1919, in the City
9 of Altoona and led an exemplary life of service to his
10 family, community and country.
11 (2) In 1939 Jack Kuhn enlisted in the Pennsylvania
12 National Guard 104th Horse Cavalry, 28th Division. On March
13 10, 1942, four months after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, Jack
14 Kuhn enlisted in the United States Army. On April 1, 1943, he
15 began training along with three officers and 65 enlisted men
16 as part of the D-Company 2nd Ranger Battalion. D-Company was
17 dispatched and involved in the assault on Pointe Du Hoc in
1 France on June 6, 1944, now known as D-Day.
2 (3) As part of this battle, Jack Kuhn and his fellow
3 Rangers rope-climbed the cliffs while German soldiers
4 bombarded them with grenades, machine gun and rifle fire. The
5 Rangers never gave up and reached the top of the cliffs,
6 pushing the Germans back. Jack Kuhn and his platoon leader
7 were charged with the task of finding the 155mm guns that
8 were being used to decimate the landing troops. Jack Kuhn's
9 bravery, while facing what many felt was certain death,
10 disarmed five of the six 155mm guns and saved countless lives
11 of his fellow soldiers.
12 (4) Within minutes of immobilizing the 155mm guns, the
13 German infantry surrounded the men of D-Company, who were
14 without communication and dangerously low on ammunition, and
15 pinned them down for more than 48 hours until they were
16 relieved. By the end of the battle, D-Company was left with
17 only 15 out of the 65 men.
18 (5) Jack Kuhn and the remaining members of D-Company
19 went on to fight in the Battle of Brest, where Jack was
20 injured and was told he would be shipped home. Jack Kuhn, not
21 willing to leave his company behind and be sent home, found a
22 way to rejoin the D-Company in Belgium and went on to fight
23 in eight more major battles, including the famous Battle of
24 the Bulge, where D-Company once again suffered many
25 casualties. D-Company marched all the way to Pilsen,
26 Czechoslovakia, by the end of the war.
27 (6) Jack Kuhn returned home and joined the Altoona
28 Police Department on July 1, 1949, as a patrolman. However,
29 Jack's desire to serve his country led him to return to the
30 military as a Gunnery Sergeant for the Amphibious Recon 2nd
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1 Marine Division FMF during the Korean War.
2 (7) Jack Kuhn received two Silver Star awards, the
3 Bronze Star, the Purple Heart, the French Fouragere, the
4 Combat Infantry Badge, the Presidential Unit Citation, the
5 European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal and the
6 British Medal of Valor. In 1994 Jack was inducted into the
7 Ranger Hall of Fame.
8 (8) After his service in the Korean War, Jack returned
9 to the Altoona police force and went on to become a Detective
10 Sergeant, Captain of the Criminal Investigation Division and
11 Deputy Chief. He was promoted to Chief of the Altoona Police
12 Department in July 1973 and retired in August 1976.
13 (9) Jack Kuhn continued to serve his community as a
14 school bus driver until 2001.
15 (10) Jack Kuhn, a devoted servant to his family,
16 community and country, passed away on December 4, 2002, at
17 the age of 83.
18 (b) Designation.--The portion of State Route 4013 known as
19 Chestnut Avenue in the City of Altoona and Logan Township, Blair
20 County, from 8th Street to North 8th Street (Juniata), is hereby
21 designated the Jack E. Kuhn Memorial Highway.
22 (c) Signs.--The Department of Transportation shall erect and
23 maintain signs at both ends of the roadway designated in
24 subsection (b).
25 Section 2. Effective date.
26 This act shall take effect in 60 days.
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