Jennings park honors soldier killed in Iraq

JENNINGS, La. (AP) - The city has renamed South Side Park to honor a soldier from Jennings who was killed in Iraq.

The American Press reported (https://bit.ly/1eOXZNb) the park on Peters Street will be known as Marcus Cain Memorial Park.

The City Council unanimously voted in favor of the change, to honor the 20-year-old Army corporal who was killed in 2006.

“We hope the park will be a source of pride to the community to honor Marcus in such a way that he is not forgotten,” said Mayor Terry Duhon.

Cain had been assigned to the 4th Infantry Division’s 4th Support Battalion based at Fort Hood, Texas. He died in a roadside bombing near Baghdad.

He was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star medal.

Cain grew up in Jennings, and his parents, Bennie and Leroy Cain Jr., still live there.

“Bennie has told me she thought renaming the park would be appropriate for the children to remember Marcus and what he stood for, and I think this is the right thing to do,” Duhon said.

The park has a basketball court, tennis court, two baseball fields, a playground, pavilions and restrooms.

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Information from: American Press, https://www.americanpress.com