Officials dedicate renamed Ligonier Township bridge, honor legacy of 2 Congressional medal recipients

Officials and family members gathered Saturday at Ligonier Valley Cemetery to make sure future generations don’t forget the battlefield bravery displayed by two Congressional Medal of Honor recipients who are buried there.

While a local veterans honor guard provided a military salute, state officials dedicated the nearby Route 711 span over Loyalhanna Creek as the Staff Sgt. Alvin P. Carey and Pvt. John C. Ewing Medal of Honor Memorial Bridge.

Carey, a graduate of Ligonier High School, was killed in action in World War II during an attack on occupying German forces in France.

Ewing, a Donegal Township native and Civil War veteran of the Pennsylvania 211th Infantry, captured the flag of a Confederate unit from Alabama during a Union victory near Petersburg, Va., April 2, 1865.

Local attorney and master of ceremonies Mark Sorice said the two men’s wartime actions prove: “One person can have an influence and make a difference in the world and people’s lives. What we do today has far-reaching consequences.”

Sorice is heading an effort to raise funds for a proposed memorial to the two medal recipients in downtown Ligonier.

Sorice noted the flag Ewing seized in the heat of battle was presented to President Abraham Lincoln after passing through the hands of General Ulysses S. Grant and a reporter for a New York newspaper.

Carey’s attack on German gunners in a pillbox was mirrored by that of a character played by actor Steve McQueen in a Hollywood film, according to Sorice.

Lt. Col. Craig Minnick, U.S. Army (retired), who has established a local scholarship in honor of the two medal recipients, described Carey’s battlefield initiative, which cost him his life.

Leader of a machine gun section that was pitted against the Germans, Carey grabbed some hand grenades and advanced up a heavily defended hill, killing one enemy rifleman along the way.

“He hurled a grenade into the pillbox opening in the face of intense enemy fire, which wounded him mortally,” Minnick said. “Undaunted, he gathered his strength and continued his grenade attack until one entered and exploded in the pillbox, killing the occupants and putting their guns out of action.”

Minnick said Carey’s ultimate sacrifice inspired his widow, Anna, to enlist in the Women’s Army Corps.

Though neither Carey nor Ewing had children, descendants of other family relations were on hand for Saturday’s dedication.

Donna Jones, whose father was a cousin of Carey, was born a week after Carey was killed in action, on Aug. 23, 1944.

“I grew up knowing all about his bravery,” Jones said. “I cannot imagine the courage it would take to do that for your country and your fellow man.”

Jones noted the family’s military tradition is being carried on by her grandson, Lance Cpl. Logan Queer, a 20-year-old Ligonier native who is serving overseas with the Marines.

“Respect, honor and remember not only Alvin Carey, but all our military service members and veterans,” Jones urged.

Jeffrey Craig, a relative of Ewing through his mother’s family, said they were reawakened to their connection to Ewing after spotting his name in a list of Medal of Honor recipients who were being recognized in a ceremony at Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Hall and Museum in Pittsburgh.

“They went to the ceremony, and that’s how we found out that John Ewing was my grandfather’s uncle,” Craig said.

Craig said family members discovered Ewing’s medal in a shoe box in 2019 when they were taking stock of his grandmother’s former home in Ligonier.

“It was in pristine condition,” he said, noting the family has donated the medal to the Ligonier Valley Historical Society. Karen Ferry, the daughter of Carey’s widow through a later marriage, donated his medal for display at Ligonier Valley High School.

A sign displaying the new name of the Route 711 bridge testifies to Carey’s and Ewing’s valor for all who pass over the span.

Rachel Duda, PennDOT District 12 executive, said she was honored to be part of the bridge rededication. “It is a very small act compared to the incredible sacrifices that these people have made,” she said of the medal recipients.

“Let (the bridge) serve as a reminder of the debt we owe to our veterans and a symbol of the commitment to honoring their legacy,” state Rep. Leslie Rossi said during the ceremony.