Bridge name will honor Marine

By Denise Dick

The Poland Marine died in combat in Vietnam in July 1967.

POLAND — Marine PFC James H. Spencer died nearly 42 years ago, but some community members plan a permanent marker to him and the sacrifice he made for his country.

The village plans to name the U.S. Route 224 bridge in Spencer’s honor, said Mayor Tim Sicafuse. A date for that dedication hasn’t been determined.

Russell Beatty Jr., the village’s police chief and streets commissioner; Marine Lt. Col. Brian Kennedy; and his brother, Bill Kennedy Jr., developed the idea to name the bridge in Spencer’s memory. Lisa Reardon, also a Poland resident, performed much of the leg work to memorialize Spencer.

There are other Poland residents who fought in Vietnam, Beatty acknowledges.

“He’s the only one who lived here, was raised here and was living here when he was killed,” he said of Spencer.

Spencer, 20, died July 14, 1967, in combat in Vietnam. He’s buried in Riverside Cemetery. His mother, Jean, lives in the township and his sister, Pat Spencer-Kleinknecht, lives in New Middletown. His father, Charles “Lefty” Spencer, is deceased.

“I am so surprised that they would do that,” Jean Spencer said.

Her daughter agreed.

“I think it’s very nice,” Spencer-Kleinknecht said.

Jean Spencer was home alone — her husband at work, her daughter at school — the day Marines knocked on her door to deliver the devastating news.

“It’s like it was yesterday,” Jean Spencer said.

She thinks about her only son every day.

“You never get over it,” Jean Spencer said.

She described James, or Jimmy as he was better known, as just a boy who liked to do the things that other boys did — hiking, driving fast cars.

Spencer-Kleinknecht was 16 when her older brother died. She had just returned from a driving lesson when she learned the news.

“It seems like yesterday,” Spencer-Kleinknecht agreed with her mother.

Spencer had joined the Marines when he was 18, shortly after graduating from Poland Seminary High School.

Lt. Col. Brian Kennedy lived a few doors down from the Spencer family. He was a toddler when Spencer died, so he didn’t know him but has kept in touch with the family.

“The community of Poland has always been good about remembering veterans,” Kennedy said.

Though he doesn’t remember Spencer, he believes growing up knowing about how Spencer died for his country influenced his decision to join the Marines.

“It’s been 19, 20 years since I’ve been in the Marine Corps, and it seems like everything that I’ve accomplished in the Marine Corps pales in comparison to that,” Kennedy said. “Sacrifice is never easy, and it never really gets better with age. He made the ultimate sacrifice.”

The idea to name a bridge in Spencer’s honor was two-fold. One aim is to honor a community resident who gave his life for his country. The second is to educate people about the fact that others died so that they would have their freedom.

Spencer’s mother and sister believe Spencer would be honored that the community is remembering him.

“I think he would be very pleased,” Jean Spencer said.

denise_dick@vindy.com