The only son and eldest of four children born to Franceway "Frank" Day Atkisson and Mary Jenetta Roberts, Earl spent his early years in Broken Bow, Nebraska but moved to Selma, California in 1901. A graduate of Fowler High School, he was appointed to the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1904, graduated seventh in his class in 1908, and commissioned a second lieutenant in the Army Corps of Engineers.
After West Point, Earl served two years at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas and six years at the Army's Engineer School in Washington, D.C., including a year at Cornell University where he earned a Master of Engineering in 1911. While at Cornell he was promoted to first lieutenant. For the next four years he led the department of electrical and mechanical engineering at the Engineer School in D.C., the latter two years as a captain. His next and last assignment prior to the "Great War" was assistant superintendent and then superintendent of the Gatun Locks in Panama, where he was stationed when the United States declared war on Germany in April 1917.
In July, Earl was promoted to major and placed in command of the 30th Engineers. The 1st Gas Regiment, as it was renamed, trained at Camp American University in D.C. and embarked for Europe from Hoboken, New Jersey on February 27, 1918. They arrived in France on March 10 and, after a further period of training, participated in the Aisne-Marne, St. Mihel, and Meuse-Argonne operations. In May 1918, Earl was made commandant of the Gas Service Experimental Field and Gas Defense School at Hanlon Field near Chaumont, France. Beginning in January 1919, having risen to the rank of brevet colonel, he served in various capacities with the Army of Occupation. For his service in the war, Earl was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal, the Purple Heart, and the Distinguished Service Order of Great Britain.
Returning to the United States in September 1919, Earl reverted to his Regular Army rank of major and transferred to the fledgling Chemical Warfare Service. In 1920 he assumed command of Edgewood Arsenal near Baltimore, Maryland. At one point during his three years in command he assisted in rescuing two officers from drowning, for which he was awarded the Congressional Life Saving Medal. He then served as Assistant Military Attaché at the American embassy in London from 1923 to 1925, including special service as a technical advisor to the first limitation of armaments convention in Geneva, Switzerland. Afterward, he served as the Chemical Officer for the Ninth Corps Area at the Presidio of San Francisco until his retirement for disability in March 1926. He was permanently awarded his First World War rank of colonel by Act of Congress in June 1930.
Upon retirement Earl returned to Sanger, where he managed a ranch and department store and was an active member of local organizations like the Masons, Kiwanis, Shriners, American Legion, and Sequoia Council of the Boy Scouts of America. He spoke publicly and often about the need for American military preparedness, having been convinced since the end of the First World War that a second was inevitable. He was also an avid supporter of General William Mitchell's campaign for greater military air power and met at length with the general when Mitchell visited Sanger during a speaking tour and joined Earl for a trip into the Sierra Nevada mountains.
In 1942, shortly after his death, the Army Corps of Engineers built the Atkisson Dam and Reservoir near Edgewood Arsenal, naming it in Earl's honor. In 1989, 48 years after his death, he was inducted into the U.S. Army Chemical Corps Hall of Fame.
Earl married Elizabeth Moris Black on June 2, 1910 in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, and they had two children: sons Earl Jr. and Maris.
After West Point, Earl served two years at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas and six years at the Army's Engineer School in Washington, D.C., including a year at Cornell University where he earned a Master of Engineering in 1911. While at Cornell he was promoted to first lieutenant. For the next four years he led the department of electrical and mechanical engineering at the Engineer School in D.C., the latter two years as a captain. His next and last assignment prior to the "Great War" was assistant superintendent and then superintendent of the Gatun Locks in Panama, where he was stationed when the United States declared war on Germany in April 1917.
In July, Earl was promoted to major and placed in command of the 30th Engineers. The 1st Gas Regiment, as it was renamed, trained at Camp American University in D.C. and embarked for Europe from Hoboken, New Jersey on February 27, 1918. They arrived in France on March 10 and, after a further period of training, participated in the Aisne-Marne, St. Mihel, and Meuse-Argonne operations. In May 1918, Earl was made commandant of the Gas Service Experimental Field and Gas Defense School at Hanlon Field near Chaumont, France. Beginning in January 1919, having risen to the rank of brevet colonel, he served in various capacities with the Army of Occupation. For his service in the war, Earl was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal, the Purple Heart, and the Distinguished Service Order of Great Britain.
Returning to the United States in September 1919, Earl reverted to his Regular Army rank of major and transferred to the fledgling Chemical Warfare Service. In 1920 he assumed command of Edgewood Arsenal near Baltimore, Maryland. At one point during his three years in command he assisted in rescuing two officers from drowning, for which he was awarded the Congressional Life Saving Medal. He then served as Assistant Military Attaché at the American embassy in London from 1923 to 1925, including special service as a technical advisor to the first limitation of armaments convention in Geneva, Switzerland. Afterward, he served as the Chemical Officer for the Ninth Corps Area at the Presidio of San Francisco until his retirement for disability in March 1926. He was permanently awarded his First World War rank of colonel by Act of Congress in June 1930.
Upon retirement Earl returned to Sanger, where he managed a ranch and department store and was an active member of local organizations like the Masons, Kiwanis, Shriners, American Legion, and Sequoia Council of the Boy Scouts of America. He spoke publicly and often about the need for American military preparedness, having been convinced since the end of the First World War that a second was inevitable. He was also an avid supporter of General William Mitchell's campaign for greater military air power and met at length with the general when Mitchell visited Sanger during a speaking tour and joined Earl for a trip into the Sierra Nevada mountains.
In 1942, shortly after his death, the Army Corps of Engineers built the Atkisson Dam and Reservoir near Edgewood Arsenal, naming it in Earl's honor. In 1989, 48 years after his death, he was inducted into the U.S. Army Chemical Corps Hall of Fame.
Earl married Elizabeth Moris Black on June 2, 1910 in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, and they had two children: sons Earl Jr. and Maris.
The only son and eldest of four children born to Franceway "Frank" Day Atkisson and Mary Jenetta Roberts, Earl spent his early years in Broken Bow, Nebraska but moved to Selma, California in 1901. A graduate of Fowler High School, he was appointed to the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1904, graduated seventh in his class in 1908, and commissioned a second lieutenant in the Army Corps of Engineers.
After West Point, Earl served two years at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas and six years at the Army's Engineer School in Washington, D.C., including a year at Cornell University where he earned a Master of Engineering in 1911. While at Cornell he was promoted to first lieutenant. For the next four years he led the department of electrical and mechanical engineering at the Engineer School in D.C., the latter two years as a captain. His next and last assignment prior to the "Great War" was assistant superintendent and then superintendent of the Gatun Locks in Panama, where he was stationed when the United States declared war on Germany in April 1917.
In July, Earl was promoted to major and placed in command of the 30th Engineers. The 1st Gas Regiment, as it was renamed, trained at Camp American University in D.C. and embarked for Europe from Hoboken, New Jersey on February 27, 1918. They arrived in France on March 10 and, after a further period of training, participated in the Aisne-Marne, St. Mihel, and Meuse-Argonne operations. In May 1918, Earl was made commandant of the Gas Service Experimental Field and Gas Defense School at Hanlon Field near Chaumont, France. Beginning in January 1919, having risen to the rank of brevet colonel, he served in various capacities with the Army of Occupation. For his service in the war, Earl was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal, the Purple Heart, and the Distinguished Service Order of Great Britain.
Returning to the United States in September 1919, Earl reverted to his Regular Army rank of major and transferred to the fledgling Chemical Warfare Service. In 1920 he assumed command of Edgewood Arsenal near Baltimore, Maryland. At one point during his three years in command he assisted in rescuing two officers from drowning, for which he was awarded the Congressional Life Saving Medal. He then served as Assistant Military Attaché at the American embassy in London from 1923 to 1925, including special service as a technical advisor to the first limitation of armaments convention in Geneva, Switzerland. Afterward, he served as the Chemical Officer for the Ninth Corps Area at the Presidio of San Francisco until his retirement for disability in March 1926. He was permanently awarded his First World War rank of colonel by Act of Congress in June 1930.
Upon retirement Earl returned to Sanger, where he managed a ranch and department store and was an active member of local organizations like the Masons, Kiwanis, Shriners, American Legion, and Sequoia Council of the Boy Scouts of America. He spoke publicly and often about the need for American military preparedness, having been convinced since the end of the First World War that a second was inevitable. He was also an avid supporter of General William Mitchell's campaign for greater military air power and met at length with the general when Mitchell visited Sanger during a speaking tour and joined Earl for a trip into the Sierra Nevada mountains.
In 1942, shortly after his death, the Army Corps of Engineers built the Atkisson Dam and Reservoir near Edgewood Arsenal, naming it in Earl's honor. In 1989, 48 years after his death, he was inducted into the U.S. Army Chemical Corps Hall of Fame.
Earl married Elizabeth Moris Black on June 2, 1910 in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, and they had two children: sons Earl Jr. and Maris.
After West Point, Earl served two years at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas and six years at the Army's Engineer School in Washington, D.C., including a year at Cornell University where he earned a Master of Engineering in 1911. While at Cornell he was promoted to first lieutenant. For the next four years he led the department of electrical and mechanical engineering at the Engineer School in D.C., the latter two years as a captain. His next and last assignment prior to the "Great War" was assistant superintendent and then superintendent of the Gatun Locks in Panama, where he was stationed when the United States declared war on Germany in April 1917.
In July, Earl was promoted to major and placed in command of the 30th Engineers. The 1st Gas Regiment, as it was renamed, trained at Camp American University in D.C. and embarked for Europe from Hoboken, New Jersey on February 27, 1918. They arrived in France on March 10 and, after a further period of training, participated in the Aisne-Marne, St. Mihel, and Meuse-Argonne operations. In May 1918, Earl was made commandant of the Gas Service Experimental Field and Gas Defense School at Hanlon Field near Chaumont, France. Beginning in January 1919, having risen to the rank of brevet colonel, he served in various capacities with the Army of Occupation. For his service in the war, Earl was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal, the Purple Heart, and the Distinguished Service Order of Great Britain.
Returning to the United States in September 1919, Earl reverted to his Regular Army rank of major and transferred to the fledgling Chemical Warfare Service. In 1920 he assumed command of Edgewood Arsenal near Baltimore, Maryland. At one point during his three years in command he assisted in rescuing two officers from drowning, for which he was awarded the Congressional Life Saving Medal. He then served as Assistant Military Attaché at the American embassy in London from 1923 to 1925, including special service as a technical advisor to the first limitation of armaments convention in Geneva, Switzerland. Afterward, he served as the Chemical Officer for the Ninth Corps Area at the Presidio of San Francisco until his retirement for disability in March 1926. He was permanently awarded his First World War rank of colonel by Act of Congress in June 1930.
Upon retirement Earl returned to Sanger, where he managed a ranch and department store and was an active member of local organizations like the Masons, Kiwanis, Shriners, American Legion, and Sequoia Council of the Boy Scouts of America. He spoke publicly and often about the need for American military preparedness, having been convinced since the end of the First World War that a second was inevitable. He was also an avid supporter of General William Mitchell's campaign for greater military air power and met at length with the general when Mitchell visited Sanger during a speaking tour and joined Earl for a trip into the Sierra Nevada mountains.
In 1942, shortly after his death, the Army Corps of Engineers built the Atkisson Dam and Reservoir near Edgewood Arsenal, naming it in Earl's honor. In 1989, 48 years after his death, he was inducted into the U.S. Army Chemical Corps Hall of Fame.
Earl married Elizabeth Moris Black on June 2, 1910 in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, and they had two children: sons Earl Jr. and Maris.
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