Nolan, Thomas A.

Description

Thomas A. Nolan was born on July 30, 1893, in Glasco, Ulster County, New York, the son of Thomas Nolan and Eliza Anne Condon. He spent his early life in Saugerties, New York, where he was raised in a working-class family environment. His father died in 1915, leaving him to continue into adulthood during a period of family transition.

By 1917, Nolan had relocated to Rye, New York, where he resided at 15 Purchase Street. At the time of his draft registration, he was employed as a telephone operator, reflecting the growing importance of communications infrastructure in the early twentieth century.

World War I Service

Nolan entered military service on May 12, 1917, in New York City, enlisting in the Enlisted Reserve Corps before being assigned to Company B of the 302nd Field Signal Battalion, a unit responsible for establishing and maintaining battlefield communications for American forces during World War I.

The Signal Corps played a critical role in coordinating troop movements and artillery operations by installing and maintaining telephone and telegraph lines under combat conditions. Soldiers in field signal battalions were often required to operate under dangerous circumstances, repairing lines damaged by enemy fire and ensuring uninterrupted communication across rapidly changing front lines.

Nolan served overseas from March 29, 1918, to April 30, 1919, as part of the American Expeditionary Forces. During his service, he attained the rank of Corporal.

In January 1919, he was cited for bravery for his actions at La Grotte, France, where he replaced a vital telephone line approximately two miles in length by hand under heavy enemy counter-barrage, continuing his work despite extreme danger and after having already been on duty for eighty consecutive hours. This action reflects the hazardous and essential nature of Signal Corps operations during the war.

He sustained no recorded wounds or injuries in action and was honorably discharged on May 9, 1919, following demobilization.

Life After Service

Following his return from military service, Nolan settled in New Rochelle, New York, and later in Queens, New York, where he spent much of his adult life. He married Mae Riley, and the couple had a daughter, Jane Nolan, born in 1926.

Over the following decades, he remained in New York, residing in Queens through at least 1950, reflecting long-term stability in the postwar period. His life spanned major transitions in American society, from the pre–World War I era through the mid-twentieth century.

Thomas A. Nolan died on December 27, 1982, in Queens, New York, at the age of 89. He was buried at Maple Grove Cemetery in Kew Gardens, New York.

At the time of his death, he was survived by his daughter, Jane Nolan.