U.S. Air Force Capt. Atis Lielmanis, a Quakertown resident who died on Nov. 24, 1963 when his plane took enemy fire over Vietnam, is now memorialized with a bridge named in his honor. (Credit: County of Bucks)
Bucks County officials Tuesday renamed county-owned Bridge #361 in Tinicum Township for a hometown hero who more than 60 years ago lost his life in service to his adopted country: Quakertown resident U.S. Air Force Capt. Atis Karlis Lielmanis, who was killed in action during the Vietnam War. Lielmanis’s sister was among those present for the special event.
“Lielmanis was serving as an Advisor-Navigator aboard a B-26B Marauder bomber aircraft on Nov. 24, 1963 when it was purposely exposed during a low-level flight above hidden Viet Cong machine gun installations,” a news release about the bridge renaming said. “His bomber took fire and crashed, but in the process revealed enemy positions, leading to their destruction by cover aircraft and saving friendly lives.”
“As we come up on Memorial Day, we think about the over one million Americans, from all walks of life, who have given the ultimate sacrifice so that we may be here as the strongest and proudest and most successful country on Earth,” said Bucks County Commissioner Vice Chair Bob Harvie during the ceremony held at the bridge. “That’s over one million stories,” he added, “many of which have been lost to time. … By dedicating this bridge, we continue the story for Capt. Lielmanis, for his family, and for all the residents of this county.”
Lielmanis was born on Jan. 2, 1939, in Latvia, immigrating to the U.S. with his family in 1950. They settled in upper Bucks County, where he graduated from Quakertown High School in 1957. Lielmanis was a member of the volleyball, basketball, cross country and chess teams there and was also art editor for the school magazine.
He attended Lehigh University before enlisting in the Air Force in 1958.
For his heroic actions in combat, Lielmanis was posthumously awarded the Air Force Cross, the U.S. Air Force’s second highest award for valor. He was promoted posthumously from First Lieutenant to Captain and is buried at Rahway Cemetery in Rahway, N.J.
The bridge named for Lielmanis crosses Tinicum Creek along Sheep Hole Road near Ottsville and is the eighth county-owned bridge to be named for a local soldier lost in the Vietnam War since 2022. The dedications are part of the County’s Vietnam Veterans Memorial Bridge Program, which honors the 136 Bucks County residents who lost their lives in the Vietnam War. The County administers the program in partnership with Bucks County-based veterans’ advocate Ed Preston and the Pennsylvania Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund (PAVVMF).
To learn more about the program and who it is meant to honor, visit BucksCounty.gov/MemorialBridges. Click here to view more photos from the dedication ceremony.
This local news story was reported with generative AI assistance.
Veterans’ advocate Ed Preston of the Pennsylvania Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, looks up as a plane flies overhead during the May 14 rededication ceremony for County Bridge #361 in Tinicum Township. The bridge was renamed for U.S. Air Force Capt. Atis Lielmanis, who died Nov. 24, 1963, when his plane took enemy fire over Vietnam. (Credit: County of Bucks)
