Peters Township War Memorial


The rededicated memorial wall was unveiled Saturday, May 17, 2003 Photos: Mark Sanders


US ARMY AWARDS, DECORATIONS, CAMPAIGN & SERVICE MEDALS Some of these medals were awarded to the veterans listed below

Silver Star	Distinguished Flying Cross	Bronze Star	Air Medal	Purple Heart	American Campaign Medal	American Defense Service Medal


World War One Victory Medal	Asiatic Pacific Campaign	European African Middle Eastern Campaign	World War Two Victory Medal	National Defense Service Medal	Vietnam Service Medal	Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal
Image credits: Institute of Heraldry
World War One Streamer

William Boyd Philips World War One
September 28, 1918 KIA	PVT Army		319th Inf Regt 80th Inf Div
Peters Township High School Class of 1914. Buried in Meuse-Argonne American Cemetery in Romagne, France, Plot B - Row 8 - Grave 11.
Headstone in Brush Run Cemetery next to Peters Creek United Presbyterian Church Cemetery on Brookwood Road in Venetia, PA
Blue Ridge Division		80th Infantry Division

Howard Glen Bioni World War Two
April 7, 1945 KIA	SGT Army		1st Platoon Reconnaissance Co B 661st Tank Destroyer Bn 69th Inf Div
Attended Thompsonville School and Peters Township High School. SGT Bioni’s battalion supported the 69th Infantry Division. KIA near Kassel, Germany, one month before VE Day.
661st Tank Destroyer Battalion		69th Infantry Division

Herbert G. Devore World War Two
March 15, 1944 KIA	CPT Army Air Forces		8th Air Force 100th Bomb Grp 350th Squadron
Allegheny County resident. Peters Township High School Class of 1937. On Peters Township Middle School plaque. B-17 pilot. Shot down by flak over Brunswick, Germany. Awarded the Air Medal with 3 Oak Leaf Clusters.
8th Air Force		100th Bomb Group

James Leroy Hays World War Two
January 25, 1945 KIA	PFC Army		42d Rainbow Div 7th Army
Allegheny County resident (the Hays farm straddled the Allegheny County and Washington County line but the farm house was in Allegheny County). Peters Township High School Class of 1941. On Peters Township Middle School plaque. KIA at Haguenau, France. Awarded the Silver Star and Purple Heart posthumously.
Rainbow Division Patch		Rainbow Division Crest

Albert Martik World War Two
May 31, 1945 KIA	CPL Marine Corps		Co I, 22d Marines 6th Marine Div
Attended Venetia School while living in Hackett. Enlisted in the Marine Corps. KIA on Okinawa. Buried in Finleyville Cemetery.
6th Marine Division		Marine Corps

John William Proudfit World War Two
June 15, 1944 DNB	2LT Army Air Forces		Probably: 20th Air Force 58th Bomb Wing 444th Bomb Group
Peters Township High School Class of 1939. On Peters Township Middle School plaque. B-29 flight engineer /machine gunner. Killed in a B-29 crash in India during takeoff to the first B-29 bombing raid over Yawata, Japan. The air strike on Yawata was only the second bombing raid on the Japanese homeland, the first being the Doolittle raid, which used B-25s from an aircraft carrier.
Army Air Forces		20th Air Force

William B. Shearer World War Two
January 29, 1945 DNB	SSG Army Air Forces		5th Air Force 375th Troop Carrier Grp 55th Squadron
Peters Township High School Class of 1940. On Peters Township Middle School plaque. Aerial engineer on a C-46 transport. Killed in a plane crash on Leyte. Buried in Highland Cemetery, Library, PA - Center B, Lot 44.
5th Air Force		375th Troop Carrier Group

Thomas Allebach Shipe Vietnam War
September 19, 1970 KIA	PFC Army		B Co, 1st Bn 503rd Inf 173rd Airborne Bde
Peters Township High School Class of 1967. Awarded the Silver Star posthumously. KIA in the Nui Mieu Mountains in Binh Dinh Province, Vietnam. Buried in Forest Lawn Gardens, McMurray, PA. [Tribute to Tom]
SKY SOLDIERS		173d Airborne Brigade

Paul Dean Urquhart Vietnam War
May 28, 1971 MIA	CPT Army	Trp B, 2nd Sqdn 17th Cav 101st Airborne Div
Resided on Old Oak Road near Donaldson's Crossroads. Attended high school in Michigan. Washington & Jefferson College Class of 1966. Helicopter pilot. MIA following a crash in Thua Thien Province during his second tour of duty in Vietnam. Captain Urquhart is one of the two Vietnam War MIA's from Washington County. [Tribute to Paul]
101st Airborne "Screaming Eagles"

POW-MIA

McMurray's only MIA
One of the Vietnam veterans listed above, Paul Urquhart, was shot down on Memorial Day 1971 while piloting an OH-6A 'Loach' helicopter. Since his remains have never been recovered, he is still listed as BNR (Body Not Recovered) and MIA (Missing In Action). Paul's Home of Record is McMurray, Pennsylvania. Captain Urquhart is one of the two Vietnam War MIA's from Washington County, the other being First Lieutenant James A. McEwen of the US Air Force. [Tribute to Paul Urquhart]

YOU ARE NOT FORGOTTEN

Flying the POW-MIA Flag
Civilians are free to fly the POW/MIA Flag whenever they wish. With the passage of Section 1082 of the 1998 Defense Authorization Act during the first term of the 105th Congress, the POW-MIA Flag will fly at US Government installations each year:

Armed Forces Day - (Third Saturday in May)
Memorial Day - (Last Monday in May)
Flag Day - June 14
Independence Day - July 4
National POW/MIA Recognition Day - (Usually the third Friday in September)
Veterans Day - November 11


Directions to Memorial
The memorial is located next to the flagpole at the Peters Township Municipal Building. It is beside the parking lot (next to Council Chambers) and wheelchair accessible.	Peters Township Municipal Bldg. 610 East McMurray Road McMurray, PA 15317 Phone: 724-941-4180

Written directions Go to MapQuest.com and enter 610 East McMurray Road McMurray, PA 15317 as your destination address
Memorial Wall The Memorial consists of a flagpole and plaza with the focal point being a 6-foot tall by 6-foot wide brown brick wall. In the center of the wall is a bronze plaque that was formerly on the war memorial in front of the old Peters Township High School. During early 2003, individual plaques bearing the names of the veterans listed above will be added to the Memorial Wall. [Back to Index]
Credits Sincere appreciation goes out to all who helped gather this information and make this webpage possible. Also, thanks to everyone involved in the Memorial Day 2003 rededication of the Peters Township War Memorial. American Battle Monuments Commission [website] National Archives and Records Administration [website] The Virtual Wall [website] Peters Township High School Yearbooks Washington County Veterans Affairs Office The Daily Notes of Canonsburg & Boyd Roach - newspaper clippings Veteran's Families: Delores Aiello, Edwin Hays, Louis Martik, the Shipe family, and Chuck Urquhart Peters Township Residents and Alumni: Vaughn Chapman, Spike Emerick, Chuck Lash, and Bob Matthews Historians and Webmasters: Joe Baugher, Vaughn Dailey, John Duquette, Dan Gillotti, Thomas Pohl, Diane Ragan, The Institute of Heraldry, The 100th Bomb Group and everyone who replied to veteran inquiries Honorable Mention: Barry Barra, Bobby Blair, Dom DeFranco, Steve Dugas, Linda Fuller, Harry Funk, Joanne Jones, Janet Metzner, Barbara S. Miller, Mike Neville & Peters Township Council, Mike Silvestri, Toni Sulkowski, VFW Post 764 and Carrie Weaver Artillery photo: Tom Wagner, C Battery, 7th Battalion, 15th Field Artillery - 175mm gun firing in Vietnam - 1971 Special Thanks to: Boyd 'Ike' Roach Dedicated to: Brian Hottel It has been an honor and privilege to become acquainted with these veterans and their families. Thank you to everyone who participated in this research and made this webpage possible.
Visits since January 15, 2007