Local fallen servicemen remembered
Two local servicemen killed in action during separate conflicts decades ago will be honored for their sacrifices Friday and Saturday.
A dedication ceremony will be held Friday morning for U.S. Army Cpl. Richard W. Kowalewski more than two decades after he was killed during a street battle in Mogadishu, Somalia, Oct. 3, 1993.
The Route 88 bridge over Muddy Creek in Cumberland Township will be dedicated to Kowalewski at 11 a.m. Friday during a ceremony at the Carmichaels High School parking lot near the location. Kowalewski was born in Waynesburg and later lived in Crucible, and joined the Army two days after graduating from Carmichaels in 1992.
Kowalewski, an Army Ranger, died at 20 years old when his convoy was attacked during a search-and-rescue mission of helicopter pilots who had crashed. The two-day operation that left 18 servicemen dead was later described in the novel and movie “Black Hawk Down.”
“He is considered an American war hero, and should be regarded as a true Greene County hero,” his cousin, Bob Kowalewski Jr., wrote in a letter to state Rep. Pam Snyder requesting the dedication. “It is for this reason that his name should be forever immortalized on a county landmark so that future generations can be reminded of his sacrifice both for his county and his country.”
On Saturday morning, Marine Cpl. Thomas R. Matty, who was killed in the Quang Nam Province of Vietnam Dec. 21, 1967, will be remembered when the West Brownsville/Fredericktown interchange of the Mon-Fayette Expressway to Route 88 is named in his honor.
Matty, who grew up in Denbo and graduated from Bethlehem-Center High School, was 22 years old when he was killed six weeks after arriving in Vietnam. His family continues to present an annual award in his name to a graduating Beth-Center senior.
Matty’s brother, Jim, a retired school teacher living in suburban Philadelphia, plans to speak at the dedication.
“We’re just so honored it’s beyond words,” Matty said by phone Tuesday night. “We can’t thank everyone enough for getting this to happen. For us, it’s a very big deal. It’s an honor.”
The 11 a.m. ceremony will be held on the northbound shoulder of the interchange with a luncheon at Fredericktown American Legion to follow afterward.
“There’s been many years between their deaths and many conflicts since, but their stories are so tragic,” Snyder said. “They were so young.”
Snyder, D-Jefferson, sponsored the bills to honor the two local serviceman, which unanimously passed the state House in February. Gov. Tom Wolf signed the bills into law in May 13.
“These are going to be two special days and two special events for the families to ensure their memory isn’t forgotten,” Snyder said. “More importantly, that their sacrifice isn’t forgotten.”
The public is invited to attend both ceremonies.