In Memoriam

Little Ferry to honor Marine killed in Iraq
Wednesday, May 10, 2006

By JOHN A. GAVIN
STAFF WRITER

LITTLE FERRY – The remains of Marine Sgt. Matthew J. Fenton, who died Friday of injuries sustained last month in a suicide bomb attack in Iraq, will lie in repose in the Borough Council chambers.

Fenton, whose goal was to become a police officer in his hometown, will receive a full military funeral with a Marine honor guard at the casket's side and a procession down Liberty Street to St. Margaret of Cortona R.C. Church, 31 Chamberlain Ave.

His remains will be brought to Borough Hall, 215-217 Liberty St., on Thursday. Public viewing will be from 5 to 8 p.m. Thursday and Friday.

A funeral Mass will be 11 a.m. Saturday at St. Margaret.

"In the coming days, the citizens of the borough and the surrounding communities will come together to honor Sergeant Fenton and bid him farewell," Council President Mauro Raguseo said. "He made the ultimate sacrifice to save others. For this, Sergeant Fenton is a hero, and his return to Little Ferry warrants a respectful, somber and dignified hero's welcome."

On Tuesday, the Department of Defense issued its first official statement about the death, confirming that Fenton was wounded while conducting combat operations against enemy forces in Al Anbar province on April 26. He died at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Md.

Fenton was assigned to Marine Forces Reserve's Inspector and Instructor Staff, 1st Battalion, 25th Marine Regiment, 4th Marine Division, in Fort Devens, Mass.

On Tuesday, flags flew at half staff at public buildings, memorials and schools in the borough as residents paid tribute to Little Ferry's first war casualty since Vietnam.

Saturday's funeral begins at 10 a.m. with the Fenton family and local officials walking in procession behind the hearse to the church. Services will conclude with a 21-gun salute and presentation of the flag to Fenton's mother. Cremation will be private.

For those from out of town attending the public viewing, parking will be available at the Valley Fair parking lot on Bergen Turnpike. Shuttle buses will take people to Borough Hall.