A scrapbook containing newspaper clips covering World War II is on display at Cortlandt Town Hall.
The book belonged to Buchanan resident Russell Harrison, who died last month at the age of 91. His family found it after his passing.
"We looked through it and we didn’t quite know what to do with it, but we thought it was special," said Dolly Lancaster, the wife of Harrison's stepson. "Russell never mentioned it to us but I know it was his work because of other pictures that I found. He was very neat. He’s the kind of person who writes on the back of pictures. He was just so proud of his military service."
Lancaster and her husband Ron, Beacon residents, knew how active Harrison was in the Cortlandt—he was a member of the veterans council—so they decided to donate the scrapbook. It is on display in a glass cabinet inside town hall.
Harrison enlisted in the Navy after the attack on Pearl Harbor, serving there and in Japan as a Seabee welder. Lancaster described his time in the service as "very intense," as he spent some of it recovering bodies from the wreckage.
When Harrison returned to civilian life, he continued to work as a welder and a boiler-maker. In addition to his participation on the veterans council, Harrison visited local schools and spoke to the students.
"It was his hope that young people would not lose track of what it means to be a veteran and what it means to serve your country," Lancaster said.
Anyone interested in viewing the scrapbook can do so through the supervisor's office.
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