Mount Pleasant dog park to be named after fallen hero

MOUNT PLEASANT, S.C. (WCBD) – The last phase of Memorial Waterfront Park in Mount Pleasant still has a few more months to go before its finished, but one of the new amenities now has a name.

“We’re going to be naming the dog park for a son of Mount Pleasant,” said Mount Pleasant Mayor Will Haynie.

On Tuesday, Mount Pleasant Town Council voted to name the new dog park within the expansion after U.S. Army Capt. Richard Cliff, a Mount Pleasant native killed in Afghanistan in 2008.

Cliff’s friends and family told council the Wando High School graduate was just 29 years old and left behind his wife and newborn baby.

“He loved this country, he loved Mount Pleasant, he loved his family, he loved his friends, many of whom live here now. He also loved his dogs, Ralph and Rex, and they miss him terribly, believe me,” said Rich Cliff, Capt. Cliff’s father.  “More importantly though, I think the park would be a real source of inspiration for future generations.”

The new section of the park under the base of the Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge will feature several other additions like a splash pad, basketball and pickleball courts, and an exercise area.  

The park is set to honor a hometown hero, while also nodding to Mount Pleasant’s past.

“It fits together so well because there are vestiges of the Mount Pleasant that he knew and loved…” Mayor Haynie said. “A replica of the old water tower, part of the old bridge. And I think he would be very pleased.”

The mayor said the funding for the expansion of Waterfront Park came from a Tax Increment Financing district established in 1998.