By JACQUELINE DURETT
Correspondent
SAYREVILLE — A baseball field at the Morgan Athletic Association complex will be rededicated to a fallen Vietnam hero on Saturday.
Pfc. Wayne A. Grant was a 21-year-old Morgan resident who was killed in action in Vietnam. According to Ken Kelly, co-chairman of the Sayreville Veterans’ Alliance, Grant, a member of the 25th infantry division, was killed on Oct. 26, 1967, in the South Vietnamese province of Binh Duong.
Grant’s infantry was based in Hawaii and started sending soldiers to South Vietnam in 1963; according to military records, Grant’s tour started in July 1967.
Kelly said Grant received a number of military honors for his service, including the Combat Infantryman Badge, the Vietnam Service Medal, the Bronze Star Medal and the Purple Heart.
The field at the complex was originally dedicated about 20 years ago, Kelly said. At Saturday’s rededication, a new sign recognizing Grant’s service will be unveiled at the Faith Field.
“The sign on the field was really bad,” Kelly said, noting that the family asked him about replacing it. Kelly said he shared his plans with both the Borough Council and the Board of Education, since the field is on Board of Education property, with no objection.
The rededication is scheduled to follow the Sayreville Athletic Association Opening Day Parade. Kelly said a full military service will be conducted by military honor guards, and that local VFW and American Legion posts will be participating as well. Kelly said both Mayor Kennedy O’Brien and former Councilman Stanley Drawl, a retired U.S. Army lieutenant colonel, will speak at the rededication.
Members of Grant’s family, some of whom live locally, will attend Saturday’s event, Kelly said, adding that extended family will be traveling from Florida for the event as well.
Kelly said he served in Vietnam himself, but did not know Grant personally. He said Sayreville lost seven residents in Vietnam, and he appreciated the opportunity to honor a fallen brother.
While the parade may have to be rescheduled to Sunday if the weather doesn’t cooperate, Kelly said the rededication will happen rain or shine. The borough asks that those planning to attend the ceremony arrive by 10 a.m.
Grant is buried at Christ Church cemetery in South Amboy. He also is remembered with a page on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund website, where family and friends have shared information and memories.