Janice Kiaski MARKER UNVEILED — A dedication ceremony was held Saturday at the Lighthouse Evangelical Presbyterian Church in Richmond for the unveiling of a state Route 43 sign for the “Army Corporal Carl H. Bernhart Memorial Highway,” a 2-mile stretch beginning at mile marker 12. Killed in action at age 20 during the Vietnam War, Bernhart was remembered by family, friends and dignitaries. With the sign are, from left, siblings Marc Bernhart and Priscilla Braun; John E. Barnhart of Weirton, who initiated the effort for the highway marker designation; Emmett Lauer of Silver Springs, Md., who served with Bernhart and was present on the battlefield the day Bernhart died; siblings John Bernhart, Jeff Bernhart, Mike Bernhart and Charlotte Sampson; and Stephanie Ivany, Carl’s daughter.

RICHMOND–Army Cpl. Carl Hans Bernhart died nearly 50 years ago while serving with the 173rd Airborne Brigade, B Co., 1st Battlion, 503rd Infantry during the Vietnam War, but Saturday his memory was very much alive.

Family, friends, dignitaries and community members turned out for a memorial highway dedication ceremony to honor the fallen hero and Richmond man who was 20 when he was killed under hostile ground fire on March 16, 1968, in Kontum, South Vietnam.

The end of the service brought the outdoor unveiling of a yet-to-be erected state Route 43 sign for the “Army Corporal Carl H. Bernhart Memorial Highway,” a 2-mile stretch beginning at mile marker 12 and continuing to the Fairfield area.

But indoors, the more than three-hour service was laced with laughter and tears through many testimonials, including from Emmett Lauer of Silver Springs, Md., who was present on the battlefield the day Bernhart died.

Lauer knew Bernhart for a year, meeting him in March 1967.

“I liked Carl right away. He was not a loud mouth or a braggart and was pretty quiet,” he said. “He didn’t drink, and he didn’t smoke.”

The two served in the same unit as military police and would volunteer to go to the infantry. Carl was on the machine gun crew; Lauer, a radio telephone operator.

In recalling the events of the night before their mission to “take this Hill 1000,” Lauer said, “they brought hot chow in, some sodas and some beer — hot, no ice — and a chaplain came in, so I found out later when they send hot chow in and a chaplain before your operation starts, you can bet you’re going to run into something, and it’s going to be bad. We didn’t know it at the time.”

Lauer, who said the chaplain set up an altar on ammunition boxes, told Bernhart he was “going to go to Mass” before eating, and Carl joined him.

The last time he saw Carl alive was the next day as they made their way up the hill in 90-to-100-degree heat.

After Bernhart was killed, he wrote a letter to Bernharts’ parents, the late Stephen and Jeanne Pauls Bernhart, offering as much information as he knew. After Lauer returned home, he was visited by Bernhart’s father, “a barrel-chested steelworker,” and sister Priscilla.

“He grabbed me in like a bear hug and is hugging me,” Laurel said. “I could feel he’s not hugging me — he is hugging Carl, and I thought to myself, this is the closest he’ll ever get to his son again. There were no words that could be said between us, and that brings us to today. I am so happy to see what has transpired and for all of you to be here,” he told the audience.

Several siblings offered reminiscences, including brothers Mike, Jeff and Marc and sister Priscilla Braun, whose PowerPoint presentation chronicled a life from childhood days to military service. He was the third of nine children, who also include Charlotte Sampson, John Bernhart, Aric Bernhart and Stephen Bernhart.

State Rep. Jack Cera, D-Bellaire, said it was an honor to sponsor the legislation for the highway designation and to be a part of the dedication.

“When I think about the Vietnam War, I remember I was 10 or 11 and my cousins went off to Vietnam,” he said of his relatives who were probably much like Carl, appreciative of music, hunting and fishing, cars and girls.

“I think we often lose sight of the fact that men and women going off to the military are young men and women, 18 and 19,” Cera said of those who fought in Vietnam and World War II as well. He lamented that Vietnam veterans unfortunately returned to a “less than friendly country.”

“I hope we never do that again as a nation,” he said.

The highway sign will be a remembrance of Carl’s service to travelers, but Cera also pointed out that the legislation for it “goes in state law books forever, and that really struck me.”

Cera presented replica highway marker plaques to family members and others, including John E. Barnhart of Weirton, a native of Brilliant, who put the wheels in motion for the highway designation. He spoke Saturday, noting he’d never met Carl but discovered that the two of them had served as lifeguards during the 1960s at Jefferson Lake State Park. On a recent visit to the lake, Barnhart noticed the memorial there in Carl’s memory, dedicated Nov. 9, 1968.

He was struck by the similarities in their surnames, that they’d been lifeguards there and probably crossed paths and that they both were in the service. Barnhart served in the Army from 1964 through 1966, the years Carl was a lifeguard, and got orders for Korea in 1965. Barnhart thought something more should be done in Carl’s memory, inquired through Cera’s office about the procedure for a highway designation and connected with Carl’s family to see if they would embrace such a gesture.

U.S. Rep. Bill Johnson, R-Marietta, who presented a proclamation recognizing Bernhart’s exemplary and patriotic service, said, “Carl represents the best of what makes America great.”

Johnson added, “Freedom is not free, and it never will be. It is purchased at a high price. I am thankful today for the Carl Bernharts of America, for his family that gave him to a country that is so grateful that he served.”

Approaching 50, Stephanie Ivany of Canfield didn’t know Carl was her father until she began to wonder about her roots when she was 30 and had children of her own.

“I was adopted when I was 4 days old,” she said.

“I was yearning to know where did I come from, so I went on a journey and found my biological mother,” she said. Ivany learned her father was Carl, who had gone to Vietnam, and “the way times were, she was sent to a home for unwed mothers, and that’s when my parents adopted me, and I had a wonderful life.”

“When I met the Bernharts — oh my gosh, this is who I look like, this is where I come from,” she said of her reaction.

Ivany said her daughter is due to give birth July 31.

“Carl is about to become a great-grandfather,” she said to the audience’s applause.

“It really is a miracle that he lives on, and I have always felt like I had a guardian angel, I know he is with me and has protected me many times. He’s still here,” Ivany said.

Jefferson Union High School Class of 1966 members Bill Baker, Bill Dreyer and Bob Bodo took to the podium to remember their classmate and friend. Dreyer incited laughter, recalling amusing antics such as Carl driving his scooter from Richmond to the downtown library in Steubenville, carting Dreyer and two other passengers at a speed not exceeding 20 mph on Route 7.

Bodo shared how JUHS classmates gathered at the Bernhart home on North Green Street after Carl’s death, remembering the story Carl’s mother told.

“Before she found out Carl had passed away, they had all the pictures of the boys up on the wall, and one evening, Carl’s picture fell down, and the glass cracked. Mrs. Bernhart went down, and she picked it up, and she saw Carl’s face, and Carl said, ‘Mom, I’m OK.’ I can remember this, and I’ll never forget it, so we know that Carl’s OK right now,” Bodo said.

Others offering comments were David DiCicco, 173rd Airborne, Afghanistan veteran; retired teacher Tony Kovalesky, who recalled taking students to the Vietnam Memorial Wall, including a nephew of Carl’s, to place a rose near panel 44E, line 65 where Carl’s name is listed; and Wendell Keyser of the Patriot Guard Riders, who said, “On behalf of a grateful America and the Patriot Riders, please accept our sincere condolences on your tragic loss, and may your pain be tempered by the knowledge that Carl is a true American hero.”

Commemorative pins were presented by Holly Lewis, 10th District American Legion commander and commander of Wintersville Legion Post 557.

Rounding out remarks was special guest Joe Marquez, national and Chapter 30 chaplain, 173rd Airborne Brigade Association, who offered the benediction. Marquez said he understood well the family’s loss as his brother was 18 when he was killed in Vietnam.

Pastor Anthony Bianchini served as master of ceremonies. Schelley Brooks, director of the Jefferson County Veterans Commission, led in the Pledge of Allegiance. Frankie Russell sang the national anthem.

The Richmond American Legion Post 740, Honored Seven, presented the colors and conducted the 21-gun salute, the latter as the service moved outdoors and onlookers listened as a bagpiper player played “Amazing Grace,” and the sign draped with the flag was unveiled. A reception at the church followed and allowed for more reminiscences and honor for the fallen hero.

Representatives of the Adena American Legion also participated.

(Kiaski can be contacted at jkiaski@heraldstaronline.com.)