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U.S. Air Force Capt. Atis Karlis Lielmanis
Bucks County bridge dedication,
Episode 2786 of the Vietnam Veteran News Podcast will feature a story about the renaming of a bridge in Bucks County, PA to honor the memory of fallen Vietnam Vet U.S. Air Force Capt. Atis Karlis Lielmanis. The featured story comes from Bucks County website and was titled, Upper Bucks Bridge Renamed for First Bucks Resident Killed in Vietnam War.
It was reported that the County of Bucks renamed county-owned Bridge #361 in Tinicum Township for U.S. Air Force Capt. Atis Karlis Lielmanis, the first Bucks County resident killed in action during the Vietnam War.
Lielmanis was serving as an Advisor-Navigator aboard a B-26B Marauder bomber aircraft on Nov. 24, 1963, when it was purposely exposed during a low-level flight above hidden Viet Cong machine gun installations. His bomber took fire and crashed, but in the process revealed enemy positions, leading to their destruction by cover aircraft and saving friendly lives.
“As we come up on Memorial Day, we think about the over one million Americans, from all walks of life, who have given the ultimate sacrifice so that we may be here as the strongest and proudest and most successful country on Earth,” said Commissioner Vice Chair Bob Harvie.
It was further reported tant Lielmanis was born Jan. 2, 1939, in Latvia, and came to the United States with his family in 1950. They settled in Quakertown, where he attended and graduated from Quakertown High School seven years later. In high school, Lielmanis played on the volleyball, basketball, cross-country and chess teams, and was also the art editor for the school magazine. He attended Lehigh University before enlisting in the Air Force in 1958.
Listen to episode 2786 and discover more about the renaming of a bridge in Bucks County, PA to honor the memory of fallen Vietnam Vet U.S. Air Force Capt. Atis Karlis Lielmanis.
