November 25, 2025 • 9 mins
On this episode of Our American Stories, for years, Heather McPherson knew only fragments about her great-uncle, a young officer who served with the 29th Division during World War II. His name was Ralph Ferguson, and he was among the Allied troops who landed at Omaha Beach on D-Day. He died soon after during the push inland, one soldier among many lost during the invasion of Europe.
When Heather set out to learn more about him, the search grew into something larger. It took her through records of World War II losses, personal accounts from the Normandy landings, and finally to the riverbank where he fell. That personal journey shaped her calling. Today, she works as a curator who protects the stories of the men and women who served, including the one that set her own path in motion.
Support the show (https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate)
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:10):
And we continue with our American stories, and on this show,
we consider it a privilege to honor those who have
given their lives in combat for others. And so does
Heather McPherson, who is the curator of History at the
South Carolina Military Museum. In fact, it's the reason she's
at the museum in the first place. Here's Heather to
(00:31):
tell us.
Speaker 2 (00:31):
More So, when I was growing up, my mom had
photos on our piano of her uncle's and I was
always interested in this one. I want to know his story.
His name was Ralph Ferguson, and he served in the
(00:54):
twenty ninth Division during World War II and landed on
Omaha Beach first wave and made it to June twelfth
before he was killed in action. It was about twelve
miles in near the l River. So I grew up
kind of hearing bits and pieces of that story, and
you know, throughout, you know, teenager, Yeah, you got other
priorities when you're a teenager and everything, but you know,
I loved history class and stuff like that, but I
(01:16):
was kind of you know, every once in a while,
I like dig into his story a little bit. And
then you know, after college, I really dove into it.
There's so much more available on the internet and getting
in contact with people and just kind of made it
like a side mission of mine to figure out his story.
And I just kind of found some sense of purpose
trying to tell his story. The family didn't really talk
(01:37):
about it. Brothers didn't want to mention him. The mother
and so my grandma grew up not knowing a lot
about what happened to him, and same with his widow
didn't really know a lot. So me being able to
piece together his few days in country and what he
might have gone through, and you know, even finding mentions
of him and books and stuff. It was. It was
(01:58):
this really incredible journey and just got me more interested
in other aspects of World War two and then eventually
other military in general. Yeah. I was actually found a
mention of him and want to Stephen Ambrose's books. One
of the soldiers under his command was the second lieutenant
in the twenty ninth Division. He was talking like he
always felt sorry for him because he had to read
(02:18):
his soldier's mail and since certain and he knew that
he was getting really close to these men after having
to censor their mail, and that he didn't want to
lose any of them, and he, you know, it kind
of reminded me of him taking care of his younger
brothers and his younger sisters, always being the man of
the house because he actually lost his father a year
before he got deployed. So he was like, I'm torn.
(02:39):
I want to take care of my men, but I
know my family needs me at home, and it's just,
you know, World War two was just an era where
so many people stepped up and did what they needed
to do. He's writing letters back home, like, you know,
his mother's learning how to drive for the first time
because she doesn't have someone to do that for. And
you know, talking to my grandmother like, well haven't you
learned how to drive yet, Bertha, And help mother, you know,
(03:00):
filled the car with gas, and I could just sense,
you know, this pool of him wanting to be in
two places at once. And there's no telling what he
went through on the beaches of Omaha, along with so
many other of our brave men, getting separated from where
they were supposed to land and just so much going on,
and then leading his men across the Ell River. I've
(03:21):
heard a couple little excerpts of he was probably one
of the first ones to kind of go ahead. That's
what leaders did. They wanted to keep their men out
of harm's way, and you know, they took the point.
Not sure how he got killed. It could have been artillery,
could have been a sniper. But it's one of those
things where I started kind of talking about and my
grandmother started sharing stories I'd never heard before. It almost
(03:44):
like kind of clicks her memory and like, oh, yeah,
well he used to he worked at a drug store,
so he came home smelling like like coal pills. I
don't know what they were putting in those pills, but
here these little black pills, and he smelled like coal.
And I was like, well, it is West Virginia, so
everything smells like coal. But yeah, it's just these little
stories of that she didn't even knew she remembered. It's
(04:05):
it's definitely been a journey when you spend that many
years researching and really getting to know the person that
you've never met. Even my mom said, you know, I
never really met him, but you've you've almost brought him
to life for me. And finally made the pilgrimage, if
you will, to Normandy in twenty nineteen and got to
see his grave and going to see his grave site.
(04:26):
I was like, why am I getting so emotional about
someone I've never met, But it's like I did know
him and being able to share that with everyone that
I was part of the tour with went with the
twenty ninth Division Association, and I was trying to like,
I'll just go by myself, but the tour group was
going there, so I'm like, well, then I can't just
go and not go see the grave site. So I
(04:47):
was like, Okay, all these people are now watching this
moment that I've been looking forward to for a while,
and you know, they actually have an attendee come with
you and you can actually rub sand in the yeah
engraved part of the the cross, so the letters really
pop and that actually signifies, you know, someone who knew
this person has has come to visit it. So I've
(05:09):
got one person standing behind me in this little tour
group looking on. I'm like, oh, this is awkward, but
it was. It just felt like the circle was complete,
like and I've eventually had time to go back by
myself and kind of say, hey, Ralph, how you doing?
You know it's it's it really is like I know
him and I think it didn't hit me to like
maybe a little bit later like okay, yes, takes pictures,
(05:32):
just make sure. And you know, I was here, I
visited and tell everybody like, oh, this is his story.
But then later on I was like, okay, that was
that was a moment, and yeah, it kind of weighs
on you after it a little bit, but yeah, that was.
That was incredible. I think that was even more impacted
when I went to that the actual river where he
(05:53):
passed away, because it was on June sixth. We had
laid some roses down and won of the memorials, so
taken that rose and I was like, I'm gonna spread
some of the petals in Delle River. I don't know
what I was thinking, but it just seemed like the
right thing to do. So I did that, and you know,
we were just kind of looking around the river a
little bit more and let's head down down a little bit,
(06:13):
and those rose petals were there circling and I was like, well, okay,
that's so weird. So we stood there for a little
bit and I was like, all right, I guess time
to go. And then the rose petals left right when
I left it, and I was like, Okay, that's something,
something's going on here. I haven't had really any more
experiences like that, but to see those rose petals like
waiting on me almost and then leaving as I left,
(06:35):
it was almost like Ralph's like, thanks for keeping my
story alive. Stayed in a bed and breakfast that was
literally like two miles from where he was killed, and
now that family who runs the bed and breakfast, he
also has a tour group and my great uncle story
gets to be told multiple times throughout the year, and
(06:56):
his pictures right on the roadside, and it's it's just
incredible how how it all turned out. My voice was
cracking because of it, but I'm trying not to. It's hard.
It's hard, and I think that's why I love working here,
is because I know how it feels and to you know,
even yesterday, I was talking to one of our donors.
We're going to be showcasing his family at one of
(07:18):
our displays, and he's like, I'm just so thankful that
you're doing this for us, because you know they have
the story, but it's almost like they do want to
share it and it's not just for them, like I
want to share what these people did. It's like they
want to keep that memory lives. And the more people
you tell about it, the more it feels like, you know, well,
that person's going to remember that story. It just keeps,
(07:38):
you know, trickling on. These people who are no longer
with us have connected so many other people, and you know,
from different states, but also from the United States to France.
It's like the the people I stayed with were one
was British, one was Dutch. But now they take care
of a marker where my granduncle died from, you know,
(08:00):
West Virginia. So it's like these stories bring the whole
world together and it is out of something so horrible,
but out of it comes something so great. As you
connect people and keep these memories alive of good sons
and daughters making the ultimate sacrifice, and it just connects
everyone in the world. So you almost forget when you're
reading stories of the other people and they had families,
(08:21):
and a lot of people forget about families even serving
today that they were serving just alongside you know, their
men and women in uniform. So that's what pulls me
in is the stories and keeping them alive because almost
like the more stories I keep alive in the museum.
That's one more kind of check mark for Ralph going
good job, you know, keeping that story alive.
Speaker 1 (08:45):
And a special thanks to Robbie for doing that story,
producing it, bringing it to us, and a special thanks
to Heather Makepearson for telling this story. She's a curator
of history at the South Carolina Military Museum and telling
stories is what she does. And telling stories of those
who've paid well, a real price so that we can
(09:05):
enjoy the inheritance we have here in this country. And
it's an inheritance, folks, and we didn't do anything for it,
so many of us. And my goodness, what a story
she told about her great uncle, and all triggered by
those pictures on the top of a piano. Who are
those people? She thought? That curiosity drove her and she
got to know Ralph Ferguson, really got to know him.
(09:26):
Never met him, but she really got to know him.
The twenty ninth Division in World War Two. He stormed
Omaha Beach. What a beautiful story about memory and the
power of stories. Heather McPherson's story, her great uncle, Ralph
Ferguson's story here on our American Stories
And we continue with our American stories, and on this show,
we consider it a privilege to honor those who have
given their lives in combat for others. And so does
Heather McPherson, who is the curator of History at the
South Carolina Military Museum. In fact, it's the reason she's
at the museum in the first place. Here's Heather to
(00:31):
tell us.
Speaker 2 (00:31):
More So, when I was growing up, my mom had
photos on our piano of her uncle's and I was
always interested in this one. I want to know his story.
His name was Ralph Ferguson, and he served in the
(00:54):
twenty ninth Division during World War II and landed on
Omaha Beach first wave and made it to June twelfth
before he was killed in action. It was about twelve
miles in near the l River. So I grew up
kind of hearing bits and pieces of that story, and
you know, throughout, you know, teenager, Yeah, you got other
priorities when you're a teenager and everything, but you know,
I loved history class and stuff like that, but I
(01:16):
was kind of you know, every once in a while,
I like dig into his story a little bit. And
then you know, after college, I really dove into it.
There's so much more available on the internet and getting
in contact with people and just kind of made it
like a side mission of mine to figure out his story.
And I just kind of found some sense of purpose
trying to tell his story. The family didn't really talk
(01:37):
about it. Brothers didn't want to mention him. The mother
and so my grandma grew up not knowing a lot
about what happened to him, and same with his widow
didn't really know a lot. So me being able to
piece together his few days in country and what he
might have gone through, and you know, even finding mentions
of him and books and stuff. It was. It was
(01:58):
this really incredible journey and just got me more interested
in other aspects of World War two and then eventually
other military in general. Yeah. I was actually found a
mention of him and want to Stephen Ambrose's books. One
of the soldiers under his command was the second lieutenant
in the twenty ninth Division. He was talking like he
always felt sorry for him because he had to read
(02:18):
his soldier's mail and since certain and he knew that
he was getting really close to these men after having
to censor their mail, and that he didn't want to
lose any of them, and he, you know, it kind
of reminded me of him taking care of his younger
brothers and his younger sisters, always being the man of
the house because he actually lost his father a year
before he got deployed. So he was like, I'm torn.
(02:39):
I want to take care of my men, but I
know my family needs me at home, and it's just,
you know, World War two was just an era where
so many people stepped up and did what they needed
to do. He's writing letters back home, like, you know,
his mother's learning how to drive for the first time
because she doesn't have someone to do that for. And
you know, talking to my grandmother like, well haven't you
learned how to drive yet, Bertha, And help mother, you know,
(03:00):
filled the car with gas, and I could just sense,
you know, this pool of him wanting to be in
two places at once. And there's no telling what he
went through on the beaches of Omaha, along with so
many other of our brave men, getting separated from where
they were supposed to land and just so much going on,
and then leading his men across the Ell River. I've
(03:21):
heard a couple little excerpts of he was probably one
of the first ones to kind of go ahead. That's
what leaders did. They wanted to keep their men out
of harm's way, and you know, they took the point.
Not sure how he got killed. It could have been artillery,
could have been a sniper. But it's one of those
things where I started kind of talking about and my
grandmother started sharing stories I'd never heard before. It almost
(03:44):
like kind of clicks her memory and like, oh, yeah,
well he used to he worked at a drug store,
so he came home smelling like like coal pills. I
don't know what they were putting in those pills, but
here these little black pills, and he smelled like coal.
And I was like, well, it is West Virginia, so
everything smells like coal. But yeah, it's just these little
stories of that she didn't even knew she remembered. It's
(04:05):
it's definitely been a journey when you spend that many
years researching and really getting to know the person that
you've never met. Even my mom said, you know, I
never really met him, but you've you've almost brought him
to life for me. And finally made the pilgrimage, if
you will, to Normandy in twenty nineteen and got to
see his grave and going to see his grave site.
(04:26):
I was like, why am I getting so emotional about
someone I've never met, But it's like I did know
him and being able to share that with everyone that
I was part of the tour with went with the
twenty ninth Division Association, and I was trying to like,
I'll just go by myself, but the tour group was
going there, so I'm like, well, then I can't just
go and not go see the grave site. So I
(04:47):
was like, Okay, all these people are now watching this
moment that I've been looking forward to for a while,
and you know, they actually have an attendee come with
you and you can actually rub sand in the yeah
engraved part of the the cross, so the letters really
pop and that actually signifies, you know, someone who knew
this person has has come to visit it. So I've
(05:09):
got one person standing behind me in this little tour
group looking on. I'm like, oh, this is awkward, but
it was. It just felt like the circle was complete,
like and I've eventually had time to go back by
myself and kind of say, hey, Ralph, how you doing?
You know it's it's it really is like I know
him and I think it didn't hit me to like
maybe a little bit later like okay, yes, takes pictures,
(05:32):
just make sure. And you know, I was here, I
visited and tell everybody like, oh, this is his story.
But then later on I was like, okay, that was
that was a moment, and yeah, it kind of weighs
on you after it a little bit, but yeah, that was.
That was incredible. I think that was even more impacted
when I went to that the actual river where he
(05:53):
passed away, because it was on June sixth. We had
laid some roses down and won of the memorials, so
taken that rose and I was like, I'm gonna spread
some of the petals in Delle River. I don't know
what I was thinking, but it just seemed like the
right thing to do. So I did that, and you know,
we were just kind of looking around the river a
little bit more and let's head down down a little bit,
(06:13):
and those rose petals were there circling and I was like, well, okay,
that's so weird. So we stood there for a little
bit and I was like, all right, I guess time
to go. And then the rose petals left right when
I left it, and I was like, Okay, that's something,
something's going on here. I haven't had really any more
experiences like that, but to see those rose petals like
waiting on me almost and then leaving as I left,
(06:35):
it was almost like Ralph's like, thanks for keeping my
story alive. Stayed in a bed and breakfast that was
literally like two miles from where he was killed, and
now that family who runs the bed and breakfast, he
also has a tour group and my great uncle story
gets to be told multiple times throughout the year, and
(06:56):
his pictures right on the roadside, and it's it's just
incredible how how it all turned out. My voice was
cracking because of it, but I'm trying not to. It's hard.
It's hard, and I think that's why I love working here,
is because I know how it feels and to you know,
even yesterday, I was talking to one of our donors.
We're going to be showcasing his family at one of
(07:18):
our displays, and he's like, I'm just so thankful that
you're doing this for us, because you know they have
the story, but it's almost like they do want to
share it and it's not just for them, like I
want to share what these people did. It's like they
want to keep that memory lives. And the more people
you tell about it, the more it feels like, you know, well,
that person's going to remember that story. It just keeps,
(07:38):
you know, trickling on. These people who are no longer
with us have connected so many other people, and you know,
from different states, but also from the United States to France.
It's like the the people I stayed with were one
was British, one was Dutch. But now they take care
of a marker where my granduncle died from, you know,
(08:00):
West Virginia. So it's like these stories bring the whole
world together and it is out of something so horrible,
but out of it comes something so great. As you
connect people and keep these memories alive of good sons
and daughters making the ultimate sacrifice, and it just connects
everyone in the world. So you almost forget when you're
reading stories of the other people and they had families,
(08:21):
and a lot of people forget about families even serving
today that they were serving just alongside you know, their
men and women in uniform. So that's what pulls me
in is the stories and keeping them alive because almost
like the more stories I keep alive in the museum.
That's one more kind of check mark for Ralph going
good job, you know, keeping that story alive.
Speaker 1 (08:45):
And a special thanks to Robbie for doing that story,
producing it, bringing it to us, and a special thanks
to Heather Makepearson for telling this story. She's a curator
of history at the South Carolina Military Museum and telling
stories is what she does. And telling stories of those
who've paid well, a real price so that we can
(09:05):
enjoy the inheritance we have here in this country. And
it's an inheritance, folks, and we didn't do anything for it,
so many of us. And my goodness, what a story
she told about her great uncle, and all triggered by
those pictures on the top of a piano. Who are
those people? She thought? That curiosity drove her and she
got to know Ralph Ferguson, really got to know him.
(09:26):
Never met him, but she really got to know him.
The twenty ninth Division in World War Two. He stormed
Omaha Beach. What a beautiful story about memory and the
power of stories. Heather McPherson's story, her great uncle, Ralph
Ferguson's story here on our American Stories
Host
Lee Habeeb
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Las Culturistas with Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang
Ding dong! Join your culture consultants, Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang, on an unforgettable journey into the beating heart of CULTURE. Alongside sizzling special guests, they GET INTO the hottest pop-culture moments of the day and the formative cultural experiences that turned them into Culturistas. Produced by the Big Money Players Network and iHeartRadio.
Crime Junkie
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.