A child plays on a slide at the new Mildred C. Kelly Park in Harford County. The military-themed park is named in honor of Mildred C. Kelly, who became the first Black woman to hold the rank of command sergeant major in 1974. Photo courtesy Harford County Government.
A child plays on a slide at the new Mildred C. Kelly Park in Harford County. The military-themed park is named in honor of Mildred C. Kelly, who became the first Black woman to hold the rank of command sergeant major in 1974. Photo courtesy Harford County Government.

Harford County leaders and community members last week cut the ribbon on Mildred C. Kelly Park, a new community park honoring the legacy of a U.S. Army trailblazer.

The military-themed park is located along Nuttal Ave by the Harford Commons neighborhood in Edgewood. It was built on the former housing site of Aberdeen Proving Ground, where the park’s namesake, Mildred C. Kelly, became the first Black woman to hold the rank of command sergeant major in 1974. 

Mildred C. Kelly (right) became the first Black woman to hold the rank of command sergeant major in 1974. Photo courtesy Harford County Government.
Mildred C. Kelly (right) became the first Black woman to hold the rank of command sergeant major in 1974. Photo courtesy Harford County Government.

“I felt that at the time that it came, that I was not a token. I had earned and deserved to have made that promotion,” said Kelly in a 1995 C-SPAN interview. 

Kelly entered the U.S. Army in 1950 when she was 22 as a “spur-of-the-moment type thing.” While serving at the Pentagon, she was promoted to sergeant major, becoming the first Black woman to hold the rank.

Two years after the first promotion, she marked another milestone when she was promoted again to command sergeant major at Aberdeen Proving Ground, where the new park now sits. 

“As an Army veteran and son of a former command sergeant major, I’m proud to recognize the legacy of Command Sergeant Major Mildred C. Kelly by naming this park in her honor,” said Harford County Executive Bob Cassilly. “It’s fitting that this site, once home to military families, will now carry her name and her story as the park continues to serve the community.” 

Harford County leaders and community members cut a ceremonial ribbon for the new Mildred C. Kelly Park. Photo courtesy Harford County Government.
Harford County leaders and community members cut a ceremonial ribbon for the new Mildred C. Kelly Park. Photo courtesy Harford County Government.

The 5.5-acre park features a walking path, a large gazebo, designated handicapped parking spaces and military-themed playground equipment. Harford County and additional grant funding supported the project. 

Kelly, in the C-SPAN interview, described the position of sergeant major as “a little general.” 

“Many of the [women] had left home for various reasons. I just felt like they were just some of them were just like children being raised,” she said in the C-SPAN interview. “And that was really part of my job to help raise these children who had come in the Army very, very young.”

Kelly died in 2003 after devoting her post-military life to helping veterans. She is buried at Arlington National Cemetery, which is about 75 miles from the Edgewood park that now honors her legacy. 

Eddy Calkins is a summer reporting intern for Baltimore Fishbowl. Eddy is a current student at the University of Maryland where he’s reported local news in College Park, Baltimore, and Howard County.