OCCUPATION: As a lineman for Western Union Telegraph, Elery C. Hogan was transferred from the Atlanta District to the Birmingham, Alabama district after returning home from WWI. He subsequently was transferred to the Tampa District in Florida.

MILITARY SERVICE: E.C. Hogan was inducted into the National Army on 20 Nov 1917 at Lawrenceville, Georgia. He was sent to Camp Gordon in Atlanta. As he was a trained lineman for Western Union, he was assigned to Company C, 307th Field Signal Battalion of the 82nd Infantry Division. On 19 May 1918 he sailed from New York on the British ship "Virginian." Arriving in Liverpool,England, he then took the train to South Hampton to sail to La Havre, France. In France his primary duty was to maintain signal wires from the front line to headquarters and the supporting artillery battalion. He was promoted to Corporal on 16 Sep 1918. On 18 Oct 1918, near St. Juvin, France, while repairing signal wires, he came under fire from German artillery and was wounded in the back by shrapnel. He completed his mission, but before he could climb down, a shell exploded beneath him and blew him off the pole. He was subsequently gassed. He was evacuated for medical treatment, ultimately ending up at a base hospital in Bordeau, France. On 13 Jan 1919 he was cited for gallantry by Major General Duncan, commander of the 82nd Infantry Division. He returned home in May, 1919 and was discharged from the Army at Camp Gordon, Georgia on 27 May 1919.

POST WAR LIFE: Elery married Beulah Marlow on 26 Dec 1919 in Gwinnett County, Georgia. Due to the effects of the shrapnel near his spine and the gas upon his lungs, he was in and out of the VB (Veterans Bureau) hospitals from 1919 until 1931. During these years he had three children and continued working as a lineman for Western Union. By 1931 his pain had become so intense that it could only be controlled with massive doses of morphine. In 1931 he was permanently admitted to the VA hospital in Augusta, Georgia. He lived there the remaining 51 years of his life in either the VA hospital or a VA nursing home. For all practical purposes, he was a casualty of World War I. He gave his life for his Country. In 1981 he received from the Army, the "Purple Heart" for his wounds and the "Silver Star" for his conduct and bravery under fire. Elery Cornelius Hogan, Sr. died at a nursing home in Jacksonville, Florida at the age of 88.