Fultondale vet served in ‘Battle of the Bulge’

Published 8:39 am Friday, December 4, 2009

By Melanie Patterson

The North Jefferson News



Cecil L. Morgan had just graduated from Jefferson County High School when the U.S. Army came calling.

At 18 years old, Morgan would soon be in Europe during World War II as a member of a field artillery unit.

It was his first time away from home.

“You thought about home a lot the first three or four months,” he said. “Then you kind of got used to it.”

The 84-year-old has fond and not-so-fond memories of his time in the military. The Army inducted him on Nov. 4, 1943 and he was released from service Nov. 29, 1945.

He served in the 424th Infantry Regiment, 591st Artillery Battalion, Battery A.

“We thought nothing could stop us,” he said.

Some of Morgan’s most compelling memories are of his participation in the battle at Ardennes, or the “Battle of the Bulge.”

Morgan’s platoon was just outside of Bastogne, in Germany. He recalls severe cold, with temperatures dipping to 30 degrees below zero at night.

See Saturday’s edition of the North Jefferson News the full article.