By Halimat Kadri

Vernal Clingman Hodges was born on October 4th, 1895 to Julia V. Harris and Clingman Hodges in Norfolk, Virginia. He attended J.T. West Public School before going to Norfolk Mission College and Howard University for his Bachelor of Laws.

He enlisted into the Army as a Private on August 5th, 1918 in his home city and was assigned to Company 17, Engineers Training Regiment in Camp Humphreys, VA. He was soon transferred to Company B, 540th Engineers, about August 27,1918 and to Company Headquarters, 540th Engineers about September 1, 1918, where he was promoted as a Private-1st Class.

Hodges embarked from Hoboken, New Jersey on the Leviathan on Oct. 27, where he arrived in Liverpool, England Nov. 3, 1918. The soldier proceeded from Winchester, England to South Hampton, England, then from Cherbourg, France to Adainville, France. He was sent to New York on June 6, 1919 and discharged at Camp Lee, VA on July 17th, 1919 as a Private First Class.

He died June 19th, 1968 at the age of 72 in Summit County, Ohio, and was buried in the Sunset Memorial Garden in Dover, Kent County, Delaware.

Sources:

Deveraux, Colleen Dolan. “Vernal Clingman Hodges 1895–1968.” FamilySearch, Family Search, www.familysearch.org/tree/person/sources/LTRH-ZQ6.

“Virnal C Hodges.” Ancestry.com, search.ancestry.com/collections/60525/records/2163220.

“World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918.” Ancestry.com, Ancestry.com, search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?indiv=1&dbid=6482&h=21553092&tid=&pid=&usePUB=true&_phsrc=gRW8&_phstart=successSource.

Halimat Kadri is a student at Norfolk State University.