Mayor Proposes Naming New Pedestrian Bridge in Honor of Korean War Veteran

NEW BEDFORD – Mayor Jon Mitchell has filed a proposal to name the new pedestrian bridge over John F. Kennedy Boulevard in honor of U.S. Army Cpl. Andre A. Lopes.

The current pedestrian bridge was dedicated in honor of Cpl. Lopes in 1977, but it is slated to be demolished when the new bridge connecting Purchase Street to the Whale’s Tooth parking lot and inter-city rail station is completed this year. To continue honoring Cpl. Lopes’ service, Mayor Jon Mitchell is proposing to effectively transfer the name to the new bridge.

“After his Army service in WWII, Corporal Lopes reenlisted to fight in Korea, serving again with distinction,” Mayor Mitchell said. “Naming the new bridge in his honor will perpetuate Cpl. Lopes’s legacy of patriotism, service and courage.”

Cpl. Lopes, one of seven children of Eugenia Alemao-Lopes and August Lopes, enlisted in the U.S. Army at the age of 18 in 1944. He returned to New Bedford in 1947 and worked in construction for a few years. When the Korean War broke out, he reenlisted in the Army and deployed to the Korean peninsula with the 7th Infantry Division. Cpl. Lopes was responsible for overseeing and maintaining field wire communications when, in 1953, he suffered a serious injury in a missile attack that resulted in the loss of his leg. He returned to New Bedford in 1954 following treatment at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center and he received the Purple Heart the same year.

The Bay Village resident died at St. Luke’s Hospital after a long illness on May 22, 1957, at the age of 31.

Cpl. Lopes’ niece, Debra Ramos, said naming the new bridge in her uncle’s honor is fitting and appropriate because “his dream was to bridge the divide between North and South Korea. The family is very excited about it.”

The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority is nearing completion of the 240-foot-long, $21 million pedestrian bridge. The MBTA agreed to design, build and pay for the bridge after more than a year of negotiations with the City. It is scheduled to open this year.

Members of the Greater New Bedford legislative delegation filed similar legislation to name the bridge in Cpl. Lopes’s honor last year, but because the bridge will be owned by the City, the City has the authority to name it.