Guardian Park Missiles

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Guardian Park Memorial was established by the U.S. Army as they prepared to deactivate Fort Hancock. It is named for the Nike Air Defense Missiles, which were the last "guardians" of the New York Metropolitan Area.

The granite monument was originally located at the Missile Launch Area in Middletown, New Jersey, where eight Nike Ajax Missiles exploded in 1958. The Middletown missile site closed in 1963, and the monument was then moved to the Army Highlands Air Defense Site in Highlands, New Jersey. With the closing of the Nike Air Defense System nationwide and the
deactivation of the Highlands Air Defense Site in 1974, the Army decided to move the monument to Guardian Park since it would be open to the public as part of Gateway National Recreation Area.

The Damage is Done

In May 1958, eight Nike Ajax missiles exploded at Battery NY-53 in the Leonardo/Belford area of Middletown, New Jersey, during an attempt to modify safety and arming mechanisms. As a result of this accident, the Army initiated "Operation Fix-it." By August 30, 1958, 5,971 Nike Ajax missiles had completed inspection. The new arming device was found to have been incorrectly installed on 605 of these missiles and another 309 were found to contain ruptured or damaged relay caps. Also damaged was the public's perception of the Army's Air Defense program.