MITCHELL, SD (Mitchell Now) — South Dakota is renaming a bridge that spans the Missouri River for a Vietnam war hero.
The state Department of Veterans Affairs announced Friday the Highway 47 bridge over Lake Sharpe will be dedicated in honor of Private First Class Alvin Richard Spider. His name will adorn the crossing just southwest of Fort Thompson. The ceremony to make the change is on Friday, July 10, at noon.
Spider was only 26 when he was killed in action in southeast Asia. He was an infantryman attached to the 101st Airborne Division, 2nd Battalion. His name is etched into Panel 20e, Line 36 of the Vietnam Veteran’s Memorial in Washington, D.C.
South Dakota began an initiative to honor military veterans from the state in the past decade. The public is asked to attend the ceremony in honor of PFC Spider.