Private First Class Edward Nelson Beers, a native of Falls Township’s Fairless Hills section who died in action during the Vietnam War, was honored last week with a bridge dedication in his hometown.
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Approximately 100 attendees, including Beers’ family and friends, gathered at Bucks County Bridge No. 220 along Mill Creek Road near Falls Township Community Park last Tuesday to commemorate the young marine.
The bridge, which crosses Martins Creek, is the tenth in the county named for local soldiers lost in the Vietnam War since 2022.
Beers, 20, was fatally wounded by an explosive device on May 23, 1968, as he was on patrol in Vietnam’s Quang Tri Province. The young warrior suffered from shrapnel injuries to his head, neck, and shoulders. He was evacuated to the USS Sanctuary, a Navy hospital ship, where he later died.
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A 1965 graduate of Pennsbury High School, Beers was an athlete who participated in track and basketball before enlisting in the Marine Corps in 1967.
At the time of his death, he was scheduled to return home from his tour of duty in just 109 days.
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During the ceremony, a poignant moment came when a family member read the last letter Beers had sent home to his sister just weeks before his death.
“I’ll never forget the night I left you guys. I doubt whether we’ll have another night like that again. I ain’t going back to ‘Nam again. Once is enough,” he wrote.
Ed Preston, chair of the Pennsylvania Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund (PAVVMF) and a leader of the bridge-naming initiative, spoke about the Beers family’s enduring closeness and their efforts to keep the young marine’s memory alive.
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“I’ve said it before but it bears repeating, it has taken us a very, very long time to say thank you and a very long time to try and make it right,” Bucks County Commissioners Chairperson Diane Ellis-Marseglia said. “I hope Eddie feels this bridge, and I hope his family feels this bridge makes us a little bit closer to making it right for the sacrifice that all of you have made.”
“Let’s keep his memory alive. He was a hero and we’re here because of his sacrifice,” Bucks County Commissioner Gene DiGirolamo said.
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The bridge dedication is part of the county’s Vietnam Veterans Memorial Bridge Program, which aims to honor the 136 Bucks County residents who were lost in the Vietnam War. The program is a partnership with local veterans’ advocates.
For more information about the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Bridge Program and the individuals it commemorates, visit BucksCounty.gov/MemorialBridges.
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