Watertown bridge dedication planned on Saturday

The Big Sioux River Bridge on U.S. Highway 212 will be dedicated next month in honor of U.S. Army Sergeant James Haider.

The South Dakota Department of Veterans Affairs will host the state bridge dedication ceremony on Saturday to honor Haider. The ceremony is at 10:30 a.m. at the BG Ernie Edwards Readiness Center, 1951 N. Highway 20, in Watertown, according to a news release.

Haider was killed on June 9, 1968, as a result of fatal fragment wounds he received when his unit came under intense enemy mortar attack near the village of Nuoc Dang (approximately 32 miles south of Quang Ngai City in Quang Ngai Province, Republic of South Vietnam).

Naming bridges in honor of our combat veterans who died while serving their country is an initiative of Governor Kristi Noem and the South Dakota Departments of Military, Transportation, and Veterans Affairs.