WESTWOOD, N.J.—The borough is set to dedicate Pfc. Richard F. Nugent Park as the first new municipal park created since 2011.
On Saturday, Nov. 10 at noon, Veterans Day Weekend, the borough will dedicate new open space on Nugent Place in memory of namesake Marine Pfc. Richard Francis Nugent, a Westwood resident killed in action in Vietnam.
All Westwood residents are invited to attend the Nugent Park dedication, which will be held at noon, rain or shine, at the intersection of Harding Avenue and Nugent Place.
For more information on the dedication, including how your organization can participate, write Karen Hughes at khughes@westwoodnj.gov or Sylvia Kokowski at skokowski@westwoodnj.gov.
Local boy, a Marine, makes the supreme sacrifice
According to the New Jersey Vietnam Veterans Memorial web site, Nugent was born on March 24, 1946. The record lists two brothers, William and Thomas, and three sisters, Mary Ann, Madeline, and Cathleen.
He attended Westwood High School and left a year shy of graduation, April 29, 1963, to enlist in the U.S. Marine Corps.
After basic training at Parris Island, Nugent was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, First Marines, an infantry regiment of the 3rd Marine Division and part of the Seventh Fleet’s Special Landing Force.
Through two tours of duty in Vietnam, he and his unit participated in several major operations against the Viet Cong, including Operation Highland, Operation Dagger Thrust, Operation Blue Marlin, Operation Harvest Moon, Operation Long Lance, and Operation Mallard.
It was during Operation New York in February 1966 that Nugent sustained multiple shrapnel wounds. According to the citation accompanying the posthumous award of the Bronze Star with Combat “V,” Nugent and two other men from his machine gun team attempted an assault across 70 meters of open terrain under intense enemy fire in order to destroy the enemy machine gun position.
Although Nugent and another Marine were mortally wounded by enemy fire concentrated at them, the three charged and drew fire long enough to enable the rest of the company to advance in a frontal assault and overrun the Viet Cong positions.
Nugent’s actions that day were hailed as in keeping with the highest traditions of the Marine Corps and the United States Naval Service.
Pfc. Nugent died Feb. 28, 1966, three weeks shy of his 20th birthday. He is buried at Arlington National Cemetery.
In May 1966, then Westwood Mayor John Stasse wrote to Nugent’s mother, Madeline Nugent, advising her that a new street in the area of Harding Avenue would be named for her son.
Forty–five years later, the Borough of Westwood began purchasing homes in the area of Harding Avenue and Nugent Place in order to help alleviate flooding that has ravaged the area.
Through FEMA and New Jersey Green Acres and Blue Acres funding, the Borough purchased six homes.
The Bergen County Mosquito Commission razed the properties—before the sixth structure went down, Bergen County SWAT used it for training—and the Borough returned them to their natural state, creating a pervious surface to absorb rainfall, reduce runoff, and potentially decrease the level of water in the Pascack Brook during storms.
The borough’s Open Space and Recreation Plan was revised to include the six properties, and now the area is a passive park for neighborhood residents to enjoy.
At a recent council meeting, Mayor John Birkner Jr. suggested that the property on Nugent Place be dedicated as a park and named in Nugent’s memory.
The council agreed, approving Veterans Day weekend for the dedication ceremony.
The Recreation Department is responsible for the oversight and scheduling of the Westwood Community Center and borough parks and park facilities.
These include:
- Brookside Park at Lake Street and Brookside Avenue;
- Gritman Park on Meadow Road;
- Hegeman Park on Sand Road;
- Jake Voorhis Park at Stratton and Oakland avenues;
- McKinley Park at McKinley and Lafayette avenues;
- Meadowbrook Park on Kingsberry Avenue;
- Veterans Memorial Park at Broadway and Third Avenue;
- The Westwood Train Station, adjacent to Veterans Memorial Park; and
- Westvale Park, at Harrington Avenue and Sand Road.