Dedication of the bridge in honor of a Cairnbrook Second World War veteran who died on a sunken ship

SOMERSET COUNTY, Pa. (WJAC) — A bridge dedication was held Friday afternoon for a local veteran who died during World War II.

Seaman First Class Raymond Kozik, from Cairnbrook, was aboard the USS Indianapolis on July 30, 1945, when torpedoes from a Japanese submarine struck and sank the ship, while distress calls went unanswered for four days, resulting in the death of about 900 people. Gentlemen.

Unbeknownst to the crew, the ship was carrying parts of an atomic bomb when it sank.

Kozik died just one day before the remaining men were rescued.

Family and friends gathered for the ceremony to share stories about his life and honor his memory.

“All those men who died, there were no bodies, no burials, they didn’t know if they went down with the ship or if the sharks got them or from dehydration,” said Sandy Wojcik, president of the Shade -Central City Historical Center. Society and Museum.

“He never came home, he was lost at sea, so this dedication brings his memory back to us,” said Kozik’s cousin Maggie Ference.

The bridge is located on McGregor Avenue, over Dark Shade Creek, in Cairnbrook.