To the Upper Penns Neck Community

A short time ago a small group came together with the idea for a memorial for the young men from Penns Grove High who lost their lives while serving our country in the Vietnam conflict. From a population perspective, our small area lost a far greater percentage of men than most other New Jersey towns. These young men were our friends, neighbors, relatives and classmates. Their names are included at the end of this note. Mike Devonshire presented several schemes from which the final design was chosen. This was presented to the local VFW and the PG/CP School Board, both of whom enthusiastically endorsed the project. The memorial placement will be adjacent to the existing monument located at the SW corner of the “old” high school lawn. A description of the piece is in the attached material.

The Penns Grove Alumni Association has agreed to help with the fundraising efforts needed to bring this dream to fruition. The cost for fabrication and delivery of the monument is approximately $17,000. Local contractors have expressed interest in donating services to install it; the high school will provide maintenance of the surrounding grounds. We are making this request for contributions in hopes that local businesses and individuals will join the classmates, friends and families of these young men in contributing to this worthy effort. Any amount will be greatly appreciated, of course, by our town, the families of the fallen, and by those who “came back”.

Contributions for the Vietnam Memorial should be made out to:
Penns Grove HS Alumni Association Vietnam Memorial

and mailed to:
Grace Cannavo, PGHS, 334 Harding Highway, Carneys Point, NJ 08069

You’ll receive an “official” receipt for tax purposes and we’ll also make a copy of each check for bookkeeping purposes. The families and friends of these men offer thanks for the generosity of those who help to make this long-overdue gesture happen. If there is anyone who you might think should also receive this message please pass it along.

The Fallen:

Larry Bowen, John Cheeks, Robert Ferrelli, Michael Jennings, Henry Hocknell, Roy Jones, Robert Layton, Tom Rogers, Alton Thomas, Gerald Thompson, Charles Wetzel

The monolithic form of the stone monument represents the unity of the brothers-in-arms, united in a single shrine that resembles the traditional Roman funerary stele which used to memorialize notable citizens in classical antiquity. The stone, like the young men, emerges from crude rock not fully transformed, and is only partially formed at the upper portion, as the yet unrefined young men. The conversion of the upper portion of the stone has become more refined, as reflected in the tooling of the stone surface which symbolizes the molding into manhood, before it is prematurely cut off - cut short in its yet unfinished state as with the swing of a sword. The “cut” surface is polished, finished to accept the names of the fallen. The monument is fabricated of Stony Creek granite from Connecticut, a striking stone with a matrix containing diverse aggregate particles of white quartz, black granite, and rose quartz, emblematic of the diversity of the young men and the blood which they have shed. The names of those deceased are engraved in the polished surface of the “cut” surface of the monument. The enduring nature of the granite reflects and is emblematic of the unrealized potential of each of the young men.

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Penns Grove

Carneys Point is a township located in Salem County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2000 Census, the population was just under eight thousand.  The township has a total area of about 18 square of which less than 1/2 square mile is is water.  The Salem River flows along a portion of the township’s southern boundary.

Carneys Point borders Oldmans, Pilesgrove, Mannington, Pennsville, and Penns Grove.  This meclizineal  mecca  is connected to the State of Delaware by the Delaware Memorial Bridges over the Delaware River.

Carneys Point is governed under the Township form of New Jersey municipal government by a five-member Township Committee.  The township is in the Second Congressional District and is part of New Jersey’s 3rd Legislative District.

Students in public school for grades K through 12 attend the Penns Grove-Carneys Point Regional School District together with students from Penns Grove.  Schools in the district are Lafayette-Pershing School, Field Street School, Paul W. Carleton School, Penns Grove Middle School and Penns Grove High School (home of the renown Red Devils).

The town municipal building and  the police station are architectural masterpieces.

Religious services are held regularly.

Carneys Point is home to a large DuPont manufacturing facility.  Construction in earnest came around the time of World War I during a national defense boom. By 1917, DuPont employed 25,000 workers. Following the war, DuPont scaled back its munitions business. Carney’s Point continued to produce gun powder for sporting uses but was overshadowed by the expanding dye works at the adjoining Deepwater plant.

World War II brought a resurgence of smokeless powder production. In the 1940s, Carneys Point branched out into the production of cellulose chemical intermediates and plastics.  The Carneys Point DuPont Plant (locally referred to as “Plant 1″,  was closed in the late 1970s.

Carneys Point is famous for being the home of the legendary actors Bruce Willis and John Forsythe.  The comedian W. C. Fields spent time in the area before his legendary movie star status took him to far away California.  A local dining establishment, the Roman Pantry, is known as the place where Bruce Willis returns whenever he makes it home to “The Grove” (as it is called by the locals).

Located next to Carneys Point is the Borough of Penns Grove. Many people from Italy, especially the small village of Valle San Giovanni, emigrated to Penns Grove, NJ in the early 1900’s. Some of the immigrants arrived from Amatricia bringing a famous pasta dish with them. In the summer months festivities included meals featuring porchetta, fettucine, polpettine, and scrippelle.

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Sponsoreed by Casale