FLEMING ISLAND, Fla – At 6 p.m. on Thursday, June 17, 2021, the Clay County Board of County Commissioners officially opened and dedicated Neptune Park. This new athletic field and park is located off Thunderbolt Road in Fleming Island, Florida. The park was named in honor of the crew of a Navy P2V2 Neptune aircraft that crashed near that location on June 14, 1951, killing seven of the nine crew members on board. The crew was on a training mission originating from NAS Jacksonville in preparation for the Korean War. After a fire broke out onboard, the crew attempted an emergency landing at the Fleming Island Naval Outlying Field. Based on historical reports, the crash site was near the parking lot at Neptune Park.

Invited guests included NAS Jacksonville Commanding Officer, Captain Jeff Hill, Captain Matt Pottenburgh, Commander of Patrol and Reconnaissance Wing ELEVEN, and family members of two of the crewmen who died in the crash. A beautiful Georgia grey granite monument with a bronze plaque engraved with a photo of the Navy P2V2 aircraft was unveiled. Mrs. Karen Kee Pierce, daughter of Lt. Commander Lester C. Kee, and Michael Milton Trower, son of Milton Trower Aviation Mechanic 3rd Class attended the ceremony and shared stories about their fathers. Both Kee and Trower perished in the crash, along with five other crew members including Lt. Commander L. B Worley, Aviation Mechanic 1st Class Clair Meek Walizer, Aviation Radioman 3rd Class James Alexander Logwood Jr., Aviation Ordnance Airman Turner Eugene Jones, and Airman William Fred Stewart. Lt. Ralph Howell Jones, and Airman Apprentice John Dabbs Barnett survived the crash.

Clay County Chairman of the Board of County Commissioner Mike Cella led the ceremony and remarks were provided by County Manager Howard Wanamaker, Assistant Director of Facilities Gene Price, and Captain Matt Pottenburgh provided the history of Patrol and Reconnaissance Wing ELEVEN, formerly Fleet Air Wing ELEVEN, home to Fleet Aircraft Service Squadron 795 flying the P2V2 Neptune aircraft in 1951.

Special guests included Jacksonville City Councilman Matt Carlucci, brother of Michael Milton Trower, Ronald Williamson, NAS Jacksonville Base Historian, Clay District School Superintendent David Broskie, Coordinator of District Athletics John Sgromolo, and School Board members Janice Kerekes, Elizabeth Clark, and Tina Bullock, among others.

Through a partnership with Clay District Schools, the property was acquired with a long-term lease in 2012, intended to promote the use of school property for community recreational events. Construction of Neptune Park began in February 2019, and was completed in March of 2020, with the lighting installed this past spring. Park amenities include three ball fields with clay infields, covered dugouts, backstops fences, bleachers, a concession stand, and restrooms.

Chairman Mike Cella told the audience, “When Commissioners can bring recreational improvements to our communities, such as new ball fields and a concession stand, it is a proud moment for us in Clay
County. But when we have an opportunity, like we have with Neptune Park, to give something back to the community in the form of a permanent memorial dedicated to our brave heroes who risked everything to protect our country and our freedoms, it is truly a monumental occasion.”