A Family's Good Name is An Issue Bigger than ANY Bridge, Part I: Who are the Beall's?

The official designation of Pensacola's 3-mile bridge is the Philip D Beall Sr. Memorial Bridge.  This designation will carry over to the replacement bridge scheduled for completion in 2021, absent any legislative action to prevent this

A PUSH TO REMOVE A MEMORIAL

Philip D. Beall Jr. served honorably
 as a bombardier in the US Army Air
Corps in WWII and as a
Florida Senator for 16 years upon
his return home from the war

There is a silent tug of war brewing in Pensacola that is now bubbling over into the court of public opinion that threatens the legacy and memorial one family has cherished for decades.  This family, The Beall family, worries their name and their family and all the sacrifices they've made will soon be wiped out and erased.  

Worse than this, the family fears their ancestors will be targeted and attacked unfairly. 

They are heartbroken at the thought.

As I have had the pleasure of hearing more about this family over the past several months by speaking with them and learning more about them and what they have done for the community, I have once again rediscovered my love for and fascination of history. 

But history is a tricky thing.  Who retells a tale and under what context a story is told can frame an actual event in multiple ways…  Sadly, I believe some historical manipulation is happening as it pertains to one local family which is slowly transitioning into the politics of personal destruction.  I am hopeful, however, that a look at the sum-total of this one family’s contributions to our community will not be erased because of historical incidents being taken out of context and viewed through the lens of America circa 2019.

WHO ARE THE BEALL FAMILY MEMBERS AND WHY IS THE 3-MILE BRIDGE NAMED IN THEIR HONOR?

Senator Philip D Beall Sr. and his wife Hildur

The Pensacola three-mile bridge that connects Gulf Breeze, Florida with Pensacola, Florida,  has a state designation—it is officially known as the “Philip Dane Beall, Sr. Memorial Bridge.”  Philip D Beall Sr. was a Pensacola native and a Florida state Senator who served as Senate President in 1943 when he died in office.  His sons, Philip D Beall Jr and Kirke Beall both served honorably in WWII.  Philip D. Beall Jr. was shot down over Germany in WWII and spent two years in a German POW camp.  His father died in 1943 not knowing his son’s fate, and the younger Beall was imprisoned and unaware, until his release, that his father had died.  In 1962 the Florida legislature named the bridge between Gulf Breeze and Pensacola for Philip D Beall—in honor of the man’s legacy.  Interestingly—most locals do not know this and instead affectionately refer to the bridge as the “Three Mile Bridge.”  This structure is currently being replaced with a $500 Million-dollar span that will be open to traffic, fully, in 2021.  According to FDOT-once the replacement bridge is completed and absent any legislative action, the replacement bridge will carry the same official designation “Philip D Beall Sr. Memorial Bridge.”

Sen. Beall's sons served in WWII hon-
orably as Beall Sr. served as President
of the Florida Senate.  Pictured above
is Senator Beall's son Kirke Beall, a
US Navy WWII veteran of the Pacific
Theater.

A group of local citizens is trying to have the Beall designation removed so that the new bridge, the replacement bridge, can be renamed the “General Daniel R. ‘Chappie’ James” memorial bridge.  Gen. James was a decorated combat veteran of the Korean and Vietnam wars, a native Pensacolian, and the nation’s first Black 4-Star General.  His legacy is honorable, and he and his family currently have 13 memorials nationwide—including a state building named for him right here in Pensacola.  The folks that want to name the bridge for James have organized and they have petitioned the four local legislative bodies (Santa Rosa County Commission, Escambia County Commission, Gulf Breeze City Council, and Pensacola City Council.)  Santa Rosa County and Pensacola have both already voted in favor of making this change in designation.  The legislative delegation will run a bill in Tallahassee to make this change if the four governing bodies vote proactively to do this. 

A FAMILY WAITS IN LIMBO

The Beall family, meanwhile, waits in limbo.  They don’t want to see their family’s one and only memorial get torn away.  

They do not want their family’s name to be stained.  

This family would like nothing more than to keep the designation or at a minimum to have both men honored by sharing this designation jointly. 

My simple question is this:  Why is the idea of a compromise, a joint designation, such an unacceptable proposition?

After all, a family’s name and a family’s legacy is an issue bigger than any Bridge.