WEST DENNIS – On Veterans Day at 1 p.m. a Rededication Ceremony was held at the Joseph A. Merrill Memorial Park to celebrate the upgrading of the park and the reopening of the park’s walkway and deck overlooking the Bass River and Horsefoot Cove. United States Marine Corps Pfc. Joseph A. Merrill was the only Dennis resident to lose his life in the Vietnam War. He was killed in action on December 1, 1968.

According to Town of Dennis Land Management Specialist Brian Everett, Merrill Park was originally created in the mid 1980s by VFW post 8074 and the South Side Civic Association. Over time, the park and walkway became badly weathered and damaged. In 2013 a grant was obtained from the Barnstable County Extension Office in the amount of $3,500 to purchase the materials necessary to create a new walkway and deck.

In order to augment those funds, the town partnered with Cape Cod Veterans Inc. to start an “Adopt-A-Board” campaign that assisted with the funding of the park. With the help of the Dennis Municipal Building employees and AmeriCorps Cape Cod volunteers, the walkway and deck were completed just in time for the ceremony.

Photos at

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