Cecil County Veteran's Oral History Project

In the fall of 2003, the Historical Society of Cecil County launched a new program to document the contributions of military personnel from all ranks and branches of service. The Cecil County Veterans Oral History Project is an ongoing effort to preserve the stories and memories of individuals who lived in Cecil County at the time of service, or who contributed to the war effort as civilians. Donations from local service groups including the VFW, American Legion and Moose Lodge helped make the project possible. A grant from the Maryland Humanities Council also supported the program. The personal stories of local veterans, including their memories of growing up in Cecil County, their wartime experiences, their impressions of wars past and current, and their descriptions of the home front during the war are included in these audios. The contributions of women and civils -- such as the women who moved to Cecil County work in local munitions factories are also included. The goal of the project is to highlight the contributions of veterans to the mlitiary and to their community and to pass on their stories of heroism and sacrifice to future generations. Audio files, transcripts, photographs and documents collected during this project are a permanent record of Cecil County veteran's experiences and are placed in the permanent collection to be used for research.

Otis Ferguson describes his WW-II experience at Normandy Beach in this sample clip

More than twenty interviews were done for these project and these are availabe at the Society. A sample of an interview with Otis Ferguson is heard by clicking on the audio player button below.