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CAPTAIN CARLTON P. HOGAN was the son of Patrick A. and Mary A. Hogan. Born in New Jersey in June 14, 1903, he was the fourth of six children. By the time of the 1900 census, his father owned a farm on Burlington-Mount Holly Road in Westhampton Township, Burlington County NJ. While his father was a farmer, education was a major theme in the Hogan family. In 1930, eldest daughter Clara was a teacher, son Michael a salesman for a cement company, son Cornelius a dentist, Carlton a doctor, daughter Kathleen a teacher, and only the then 19 year old son James J. still working on the dairy farm. James would follow his older brother into medicine, and would serve with the Navy during World War II. Dr. Hogan was a graduate of St. Joseph College and the Hahneman Medical College in Philadelphia PA. He interned at West Jersey Hospital on Mount Ephraim Avenue at Atlantic Avenue in Camden NJ. He married, and was living with his wife Isabel Muldoon Hogan in Burlington NJ, where he practiced medicine beginning in 1932. By the time he joined the Army the Hogan family included three children, Isabel, Clare, and Carlton Jr. Dr. Hogan answered his countries call to service in August of 1942, and was assigned as the medical officer for the 322nd Fighter Control Squadron. By the late summer of 1943, he was stationed with his unit at Bradley Field in Connecticut. Slated for duty in the China-Burma-India Theater, he was sent to North Africa in the fall of 1943. The 322nd Fighter Control Squadron shipped out to North Africa on a Liberty ship out of Norfolk VA. The 322nd arrived in North Africa in early November. On November 26, 1943 his unit was aboard a British transport, the HMT Rohna, destined for India via the Suez Canal. Sailing out of Oran, Algeria, the Rohna was attacked by German aircraft. At approximately 5:00 the Rohna was struck by an airplane launched guided missile. The Rohna sank, taking 1015 American soldiers to their death, Captain Carlton P. Hogan being one of those lost. A survivor, Sergeant Aaron Weber, a radio operator with the 322nd Fighter Control Squadron, saw Captain Hogan on deck, performing his duties amidst the chaos. He wrote the following of Captain Hogan in 2002: "The last I saw of him before I abandoned ship was him attending to the wounded." Another, more telling story was related by an eye-witness to Major William Wilson, who served in a unit attached to that of Captain Hogan's. Major Wilson stated that he was told Captain Hogan gave his lifejacket to a wounded soldier who had lost his, knowing full well it would mean his own death. This selfless act is identical to the well known "Four Chaplains" incident, when after the troopship USS Dorchester was torpedoed in the North Atlantic, four Army chaplains gave their lifejackets to soldiers. A letter that Major Wilson wrote, and two other letters from those who served with him, are reprinted below. Captain Carlton P. Hogan' body was not recovered. His death was reported in the December 30, 1943 edition of the Camden Courier-Post. He is memorialized at the North Africa American Cemetery in Carthage, Tunisia, and at the family plot in Mount Holly NJ. |
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Burlington County Mirror - December 9, 1943 This letter was sent to Mr. and Mrs. Patrick Hogan who lived on the Burlington-Mt. Holly Road in Mt. Holly, N. J. It was published in the Burlington County Mirror, a local newspaper, on December 9, 1943. The family was unaware that at the time the letter was published that Carl had lost his life on November 26, 1943, on the Rohna. - Maryanne Beitel, March 2006 |
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November, 1943 Dear Mother and Father, I am feeling fine. Won't be home this weekend, being just 4086 miles away, at Oran, No. Africa. The past six weeks have been a revelation to me, from the time we came aboard. I could never imagine there was so much water. Coming across I was the only doctor aboard, hence had extra duty as ship surgeon, which gave me extra privileges and a good state room with very good food. The third day out it was necessary for me to operate for an acute appendix, quite a novelty on the high seas, bobbing around on the ocean in a storm. Everything went nicely and there was a complete recovery. Captain Bergh was a good old skipper, having sailed and navigated the world for the past 50 years. We got to be good friends and I often visited with him in his suite. At the end of the journey he gave me a nice letter thanking me for my services. We landed in a town in North Africa, very pretty and mountainous, with flat farm ground in between. The climate here is about like home on the first of October. The natives are Spanish, French and Arab. The ground appears very rich; acres and acres of vineyards, planted in rows, like cultivated blueberry vines in America. If anyone had the modern farm equipment here he could raise bumper crops with little effort. As it is, these natives have a little plow, with one horse in front of another; very tedious, but they are apparently satisfied with their methods. The town is a jumbled-up dilapidated old place; the houses are of stone, with stone walks all around them, probably for protection. There is quite a modern Catholic church, with a French priest, and we expect to go every Sunday while here. At present I am visiting Oran, in North Africa a much bigger city, rich in history. For entertainment there are the Officers' Club, Red Cross and movies. There isn't a thing here worth buying - - could get the same things at Woolworth's. We are living in tents but with the previous training we had it is quite comfortable. The food is good so I have continued to be in the best of health although I'll sure be glad when this mess is over and I can come home. Don't be too anxious about me. I am sure I can ride out this storm as I have many others. It is possible we may visit India for awhile; then across the Pacific home. That will be the day. This war seemed to be moving slowly for awhile but there will be a day in the near future when it will be over. Your loving son, Carl |
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322nd Fighter
Control Squadron 3
March 1944 Dear
Mrs. Hogan: It
is with deepest regret that
I write this to you, for
hardly can I help to
relieve the sorrow you
must have for the misfortune
that befell your husband, Capt. Carlton Hogan. Censorship regulations
prevent me from
enlightening you in any way as to the cause of your husband being listed
as missing in action No
doubt this time you have received additional word from the War Department
that helped to clarify the status to you. No
additional word has reached us or you can be sure that it would be in turn
conveyed to you. Capt.
Hogan, your husband, was a fine officer and is greatly missed by myself
and members of this organization. He was more than an officer to me for he
was a real friend. Please
accept the expression of sympathy from both myself and members of this
organization and if at anytime I may be of assistance
to you in matters of either a business or personal nature, do
not hesitate to write. (Signed) PHILIP
R. ANVYL |
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Somewhere
in China My
dear Mrs. Hogan, My
not writing you sooner than the present days is not one of not wanting to
write you, but because of Army regulations on our experiences
have not been permitted to relate. I
can’t believe how unhappy I am in sharing your great loss of the good
Doctor. I still don’t believe it, but it is so all we can do is recall all the swell things about Doc. How much his tremendous
personality meant to the squadron his wide and efficient talents as a
wonderful man in his profession, I
can say without
reservation his absence will be sorely missed by everyone he came in
contact with. I
wish I was permitted to tell you exactly what has happened, but I
cannot. The War Department will not allow any of us to tell anything. Again
I say my deepest sympathies to you and your family. With
kindest regards, (signed) |
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MOUNT HOLLY HERALD- May 1944 Lost
His Life In Sea Action Strange
as it seems, Burlington now has lost one doctor in each World War I and
World War II, both of whom were Captains in the Army Medical Corps. |
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November 23,
1944 Dear
Mrs. Stanley and Family, Long
time no letter. I should feel ashamed of myself for not writing. Helen
said you
did not receive my letter telling you I had received your second medal.
My outfit has led a charmed life so far. Have not had a man killed or
even wounded by bombing or strafing. There have been many close shaves
but it just has not been our turn as yet. While I think of it there was
a medical officer from Trenton named Hogan, on a transport that was sunk off
Cape Bon, North Africa, I was talking to another officer who was on the
ship at the time. That
was the one we lost so many men on and was announced last spring. The part I am leading up to is that Hogan gave his life belt
to an enlisted man who had lost his when the torpedo hit. Hogan never
was found after the boat went down. I
believe he was captain. I am sure he was married and had a family
because the
men who knew him told me how much he
thought
of his family. Men do strange things
but no medical officer ever gave more
than Hogan
did when he gave his life belt to a boy who had been hurt; and had lost
his. I only hope it saved the boy's life. The only reason I am writing this is that you
may know him
or his
family and his children would like to know how their father came to make
the supreme sacrifice and how utterly he
disregarded his own safety. The medical profession should feel proud to
have had such a man. If you know the family tell them no man ever did a braver
deed, because giving away your life belt on a rough sea when the boat is
sinking is just sure death. God must have a special place reserved for such people. This was told to me in India the
night
before I flew the hump into China. Signed: William
Wilson |
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Note sent to
Phil Cohen by Aaron Weber, Rohna survivor, |
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For information, visit the Rohna Survivors Memorial Association's Web site at: www.rohna.org |
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