Staff Sgt. Ronald D. McIlravy is the only Jerauld County resident to receive a Fallen Hero Bridge dedication
A South Dakota bridge will be dedicated Saturday, Aug. 22, in memory of U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Ronald D. McIlravy, who was raised in Wessington Springs and killed while serving in Vietnam.
The South Dakota Department of Veterans Affairs will host the Fallen Hero Bridge Dedication at 2 p.m. at St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church, 106 S. A St., in New Underwood.
The 161st Avenue bridge over Interstate 90 at Exit 78 in New Underwood will be named the SSG Ronald D. McIlravy Bridge. McIlravy is the only Jerauld County resident to date to be honored through the state's Fallen Heroes Bridge Dedication Program.
McIlravy was born March 26, 1948, in Mobridge and was raised from the age of 8 by his aunt and uncle, Tom and Elsie Sharp, in Wessington Springs. He attended Wessington Springs High School before enlisting in the U.S. Army. He served from 1965 until his death July 29, 1967, in Vietnam.
McIlravy, the son of Lloyd and Goldie Fischer of Mobridge, is buried at Black Hills National Cemetery near Sturgis.
South Dakota launched the Fallen Heroes Bridge Dedication Program in 2019 through the departments of Veterans Affairs, Military and Transportation. The program honors South Dakotans who were killed in action or remain missing in action by naming state bridges in their memory.
To date, 72 bridges have been dedicated in honor of South Dakota service members.
Editor’s note: The True Dakotan thanks the Jerauld County Pioneer Museum for its assistance in researching Ronald D. McIlravy’s local history and providing additional information about his life and connection to Wessington Springs.