County-owned bridge #48 in Bedminster Township in memory of U.S. Army Specialist 4th Class (SP4) Patrick J. Breslin.
The County of Bucks on July 30 dedicated County-owned bridge #48 in Bedminster Township in memory of U.S. Army Specialist 4th Class (SP4) Patrick J. Breslin, a Bucks County resident who died while serving in the Vietnam War.
SP4 Patrick J. Breslin
Jessica Bonner, sister of SP4 Patrick J. Breslin, holding the hand of her husband, MikeBreslin, 19, was serving as crew chief and door gunner aboard a Bell UH-1H Huey helicopter that crashed Oct. 17, 1971, in the South China Sea killing Breslin and two others.
The four-man chopper crew stationed at Chu Lai had been assigned the night perimeter detail amid deteriorating weather conditions. The lone surviving crew member later reported that the men on board heard a loud thump against the aircraft just before the crash.
After attending Pennridge High School, Breslin entered the Army in June 1970, received helicopter training at Fort Rucker, Alabama, and was sent to Vietnam in May 1971.
“As you’ve heard, Patrick was 19 years old when he lost his life,” said Commissioner Vice Chair Bob Harvie. “It is young men and women who we task with the protection and defense of this country, and of liberty around the world. And it’s all the more heartbreaking when that sacrifice is the ultimate one.”
Veterans Advocate Peter Chong, from the office of Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, handing the American flag to Breslin's sister Jessica Bonner
PAVVMF Chair Ed Preston addressing the crowd.Breslin had been in Vietnam five months before his death. He is buried in Sellersville at St. Agnes Catholic Cemetery.
The bridge named for Breslin crosses Deep Run along Rolling Hills Road in Bedminster Township. It is the eleventh County-owned bridge since 2022 to be named for a local soldier lost in the Vietnam War.
The dedications are part of the County’s Vietnam Veterans Memorial Bridge Program, which honors the 136 Bucks County residents lost in the Vietnam War. The County administers the program in partnership with Bucks County-based veterans’ advocate Ed Preston, who chairs the Pennsylvania Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund (PAVVMF).
To learn more about the program and the men it is meant to honor, visit BucksCounty.gov/MemorialBridges.
SP4 Patrick J. Breslin
County of Bucks 
Bucks County Commissioner Gene DiGirolamo
Veterans Advocate Peter Chong, from the office of Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick.
PAVVMF Chair Ed Preston holding a picture of Breslin, left, and Bucks County Veterans Affairs Director Matt Allen
From left, Veterans Advocate Peter Chong, from the office of Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick; Commissioner Vice Chair Bob Harvie; Jessica Bonner, sister of SP4 Patrick J. Breslin; Bucks County Veterans Affairs Director Matt Allen; Mike Bonner, holding a framed photograph of Breslin; Commissioner Gene DiGirolamo; PAVVMF Chair Ed Preston.
