1Designating the bridge located over Washington's Landing and the
2Allegheny River, commonly known as the 31st Street Bridge, in
3the City of Pittsburgh, Allegheny County, as the William
4Raymond Prom Memorial Bridge.

5The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
6hereby enacts as follows:

7Section 1.  William Raymond Prom Memorial Bridge.

8(a)  Declaration of policy.--The General Assembly finds and
9declares as follows:

10(1)  William Raymond Prom (Billy) was born November 17th,
111948, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to parents Finbola Prom
12and Fred Charles Prom. He grew up with his brother, Fred
13Charles Prom, Jr., and sister, Clara Prom, in Reserve
14Township and attended Mt. Troy Public School and Millvale
15High School. Billy was affectionately known by so many
16throughout his life as Butch.

17(2)  William Prom enlisted in the United States Marine
18Corps Reserve on December 8, 1967, and was discharged to
19enlist in the regular Marine Corps on December 27, 1967.

1William Prom started his tour of duty in the Vietnam War on
2Thursday, June 13, 1968, at 20 years of age. Upon completion
3of recruit training with the 3rd Recruit Training Battalion,
4Marine Corps Recruit Depot on Parris Island in South
5Carolina, he was promoted to private first class on March 1,
61968. He was transferred to the Marine Corps Base at Camp
7Lejeune in North Carolina and underwent individual combat
8training with the 2nd Infantry Training Regiment and Weapons
9Special Training with the 1st Battalion, 1st Infantry
10Training Regiment.

11(3)  In June 1968, William Prom arrived in the Republic
12of Vietnam where he served consecutively as ammunition man,
13assistant gunner, machine gun team leader and machine gun
14squad leader with Company I, 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marines, 3rd
15Marine Division. He was promoted to Lance Corporal on
16September 1, 1968.

17(4)  While participating in Operation Taylor Common,
18during a reconnaissance in-force operation southwest of An
19Hoa on February 9, 1969, William Prom was returning from the
20operation along with two platoons when Company I came under
21an intense automatic weapons fire and grenade attack from a
22well-concealed North Vietnamese Army force in fortified
23positions. The leading element of the platoon was isolated
24and several marines were wounded. Lance Corporal Prom
25immediately assumed control of one of his machine guns and
26began to deliver return fire. Disregarding his safety he
27advanced to a position from which he could more effectively
28deliver covering fire while first aid was being administered
29to the wounded men. Realizing that the enemy would have to be
30destroyed before the injured marines could be evacuated,

1Lance Corporal Prom again moved forward and delivered a heavy
2volume of fire with such accuracy that he was instrumental in
3overpowering the enemy, thus permitting his men to regroup
4and resume their march. Shortly thereafter, the platoon again
5came under fire in which a marine was critically wounded.
6Reacting instantly, Lance Corporal Prom moved forward to
7protect his injured comrade. Unable to continue his fire
8because of his own severe wounds, he continued to advance to
9within a few yards of the enemy positions. There, standing in
10full view of the enemy, he accurately directed the fire of
11his support elements until he was mortally wounded. Inspired
12by his heroic actions the marines launched an assault that
13destroyed the enemy. Lance Corporal Prom's unconquerable
14courage, inspiring initiative and selfless devotion to duty
15upheld the highest traditions of the Marine Corps and the 
16naval service of the United States. He gallantly gave his
17life for his country.

18(5)  Thanks to his exemplary service he was awarded the
19Medal of Honor, the Purple Heart, the National Defense
20Service Medal, the Vietnam Service Medal and the Republic of
21Vietnam Campaign Medal.

22(b)  Designation.--The bridge located over Washington's
23Landing and the Allegheny River, commonly known as the 31st
24Street Bridge in the City of Pittsburgh, Allegheny County, is
25hereby designated as the William Raymond Prom Memorial Bridge.

26(c)  Signs.--The Department of Transportation shall erect and
27maintain appropriate signs displaying the name of the bridge to
28traffic in both directions on the bridge.

29Section 2.  Effective date.

30This act shall take effect in 60 days.