PRINTER'S NO. 1636
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
SENATE BILL
No.
1221
Session of
2022
INTRODUCED BY PITTMAN, MAY 5, 2022
REFERRED TO TRANSPORTATION, MAY 5, 2022
AN ACT
Designating the interchange of U.S. Route 119 with U.S. Route
422 in White Township, Indiana County, as the Lieutenant
Colonel William A. Rush III Memorial Interchange.
The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
hereby enacts as follows:
Section 1. Lieutenant Colonel William A. Rush III Memorial
Interchange.
(a) Findings.--The General Assembly finds that:
(1) Lieutenant Colonel William Alexander Rush III, born
September 14, 1946, in Kittanning, was a man devoted to God
and country.
(2) Lieutenant Colonel Rush's uncle, Orville Dawson, was
one of the first members of the Office of Strategic Services
(OSS), which was founded in 1943 during World War II. OSS was
the predecessor to the Central Intelligence Agency.
(3) Lieutenant Colonel Rush joined the United States
Marine Corps and became a pilot after graduating from flight
school in Pensacola, Florida.
(4) In September 1971, then Lieutenant Rush was sent to
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Marine Corps Air Station Futenma, Ginowan, Okinawa, Japan,
and went on to serve from January 1972 through February 1972
in Vietnam, where he survived being shot down three times.
Due to the confidential nature of his assignments, the time
he spent serving his country in Vietnam was kept secret for
46 years.
(5) As a young Marine officer, Lieutenant Rush was often
called on to perform duties that were of a classified nature
by the intelligence community.
(6) After leaving the United States Marine Corps in
1975, then Captain Rush attended seminary school in
Gettysburg. Captain Rush later joined the United States Air
Force, serving active duty and in the reserves, where he rose
to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel as a chaplain.
(7) In the wake of the terrorist attacks on September
11, 2001, Lieutenant Colonel Rush again volunteered to serve
his country and went on active duty. He was assigned to
Tyndall Air Force Base in Florida, where he served as senior
chaplain of the 1st Air Force. Much like his previous
service, Lieutenant Colonel Rush had access to confidential
material and sat in on all security briefings. As a result,
Lieutenant Colonel Rush was not permitted to communicate with
his family.
(8) Lieutenant Colonel Rush was a direct blood
descendent of Dr. Benjamin Rush, a Founding Father of the
United States of America and signer of the Declaration of
Independence.
(9) Lieutenant Colonel Rush passed away March 2, 2021,
at home in Indiana, Pennsylvania.
(10) Lieutenant Colonel William Alexander Rush III's
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service to his country, much of which remains a secret due to
the confidential nature of his service, deserves to be
recognized.
(b) Designation.--The interchange of U.S. Route 119 with
U.S. Route 422 in White Township, Indiana County, is designated
as the Lieutenant Colonel William A. Rush III Memorial
Interchange.
(c) Signs.--The Department of Transportation shall erect and
maintain appropriate signs displaying the name of the
interchange to traffic in both directions on the interchange.
Section 2. Effective date.
This act shall take effect in 60 days.
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