House passes bill to name Vietnam Helicopter Pilot's Memorial Bridge over Matanuska River

JUNEAU — The House of Representatives passed House Bill 34 along to the Senate during floor session on Tuesday in a bill sponsored by Representative Laddie Shaw. HB 34 would name two previously unnamed bridges over the Matanuska River along the Glenn Highway as Vietnam Helicopter Pilot’s Memorial bridge. HB 34 passed by a vote of 36-2 with only Representatives David Eastman and Christopher Kurka voting in opposition.

“I’d like to tell you why these veterans deserve a special recognition, to have something like this done on their behalf, and in the scheme of things its a very small item. We deal with billions of dollars around here. We deal with major issues. We have our differences. We also come together on occasion literally for things that are of the value of heart and soul. The Vietnam helicopter pilots lost over 2,000 in the Vietnam war, 2,700 crew members were lost, over 5,000 helicopters were destroyed. These statistics truly are a grim part of their story but in many respects, their heroism will never be forgotten,” said Shaw.

Shaw said it was ‘humbling’ to carry the bill to the house floor. HB 34 previously passed House Military and Veteran’s Affairs and Finance Committees. The bill made it to the House floor on Tuesday sponsored by Representative Shaw with 26 total sponsors in the House and 15 Senators also cosponsoring the bill.

“This bridge, as Representative to the left of me indicated, is in my district and the great thing about the placement of this bridge is that not only would it be honor and show honor, it is also situated in a place where you can look at Gold Star Peak which honors those who lost their families in service to our state, and it is also placed close to Reflections Lake which is where we are hoping to put in a Gold Star Peak memorial park so that those that can’t make it to the top of Gold Star Peak are still able to honor their family members that were lost in service,” said Representative Cathy Tilton. “So please consider pushing the green button to memorialize the many that did not return and those who are still with us and pay tribute to their families.”

The sections of north and southbound lanes of the Glenn Highway over the Matanuska River are currently unnamed, listed as ‘Bridge 1124’ and ‘Bridge 1889’ in the Department of Transportation. The Vietnam pilot’s association has over 85 active members in Alaska according to Tilton with nearly 300 Vietnam veteran pilots in Alaska and noted their contributions to aviation in Alaska.

“That bridge is right between Mat-Su and Anchorage. The largest number of veterans are in Mat-Su, they drive that road, they all see that sign. It will be a small token of appreciation and that’s all it can be, that’s all we can give, but I give it as much as possible as that small token,” said Representative DeLena Johnson.

The bill carries a fiscal note of $6,289. Representative Christopher Kurka voted along with Representative David Eastman in opposition to the bill, while Representative’s Hopkins and Fields were excused absent. Kurka spoke to his vote on the bill, which will be heard next in the Senate Transportation Committee on May 13 at 1:30 p.m.

“It’s incredibly important to honor them and I will offer to personally donate to help fund renaming the bridge but I will be as painful as it is, voting no on this,” said Representative Kurka. “To be consistent, I voted against a previous bill to rename a bridge because of the fiscal note and at this time of financial deficit I’ll be voting no, but it is not an easy no vote. I wish I was voting yes.”