Proposed bill would honor 3 men who dedicated lives to community, country

Three Western Pennsylvania men who dedicated their lives to ensuring the safety of their communities and country could soon be memorialized for their sacrifices.

Former Greene County Sheriff Brian Tennant and Pfc. Joseph Frank Duda and Cpl. Denny Ray Easter, both of Fayette County, could live on through street names if a proposed bill in the state House of Representatives passes.

“These honorable men deserve recognition for their service and sacrifices to our country and our community, putting their very lives on the line to protect the freedoms we hold dear,” state Rep. Pam Snyder, D-Carmichaels, said in a news release. Carmichaels proposed the bill in November, which recently was approved by the House Transportation Committee.

Tennant, of Waynesburg, served as Greene County sheriff in 2013 and was reelected in 2017. He received recognition after rescuing several people from a 2010 Waynesburg house fire that claimed the lives of two children.

Then working as a patrolman, he saw fire and smoke coming from the Richhill Street home and heard screams coming from the rear when he got out of his cruiser, he told the Tribune-Review at the time. He persuaded a woman and two girls to jump into his arms but said the fire was too intense for him to get Noah Havrilesko, 11, and Ava Holbert, 13 out of the home.

Tennant died Feb. 27 at the age of 35. A bridge along Route 2003, currently named South Porter Street, would be renamed the Sheriff Brian A. Tennant Memorial Bridge if the bill passes. The road carries traffic over the South Fork of Tenmile Creek.

Duda served in the U.S. Marine Corps during World War II. He was a member of the 1st Battalion, 7th Marines, 3rd Marine Brigade and the Fleet Marine Force aboard the USS Fuller. He died in the line of duty on Jan. 9, 1944.

The Exit 22 interchange in Redstone Township from Route 43, known as the Mon-Fayette Expressway, onto Route 40 would be designated the Pfc. Joseph Frank Duda Memorial Interchange.

Easter joined the Army in 1970, serving in the Vietnam War as an infantryman with the 198th Light Infantry Brigade, 5^th Battalion and the 46^th Infantry, B Company. He died Jan. 31, 1971, at the age of 20 in the Quang Tin providence of South Vietnam.

The interchange of Route 40 with Route 4035 in Brownsville, also known as Market Street and Spring Street, could be named the Cpl. Denny Ray Easter Memorial Interchange.

The bill now is in the state House for consideration.