Paul R. Groover
Paul Reuben Groover was born on May 23, 1898 and lived in Statesboro, GA. He was the son of Cage and Adaline Groover. Paul was the youngest of six children, all of whom were boys. His father, Cage, was reported to be a farmer, with the eldest son being a farm laborer and the others attending school. Paul enlisted in the Georgia National Guard on April 19, 1917, just thirteen days after the United States had formally entered WWI. Paul served in the Hospital Corps of the 1st Infantry Georgia National Guard until July 1, 1917, when he was transferred to the Medical Department of the 118th Field Artillery in the 31st Division, also with the Georgia National Guard.
During his time with the 118th Field Artillery, Paul was stationed at Camp Wheeler, located near Macon, Georgia. Camp Wheeler was used as a mobilization center from 1917 to 1918. It was during his time at Camp Wheeler that Paul contracted Tuberculosis. Tuberculosis is primarily a disease that impacts the lungs, although it can manifest in other parts of the body. As Tuberculosis is an airborne illness, it was necessary for Paul to be moved to General Hospital No. 19 in Oteen, North Carolina, on September 8, 1918. He went from being a personnel member in the medical department to a patient in a general hospital. General Hospital No. 19 served as a tuberculosis hospital in WWI. Just five months later, Paul died of Tuberculosis, with all lobes being infected on February 18, 1919. Paul was 21 years of age at the time of death. He never served overseas, remaining stateside with the Georgia National Guard, and was listed as a student on his death record. His remains were returned to his family to be buried at Middleground Primitive Baptist Church in Statesboro, GA.
Works Cited
Center for Disease Control and Prevention. “Latent TB Infection and TB Disease.” CDC. US
Department of Health and Human Services, Revised December 11, 2020. https://www.cdc.gov/tb/topic/basics/tbinfectiondisease.htm.
North Carolina State Board of Health, Bureau of Vital Statistics. North Carolina Death
Certificates. Microfilm S.123. Rolls 19-242, 280, 313-682, 1040-1297. North Carolina State Archives, Raleigh, North Carolina.
US Army Corps of Engineers. “Camp Wheeler.” Savannah District Website. Defense Media
Activity, Accessed March 3, 2024. https://www.sas.usace.army.mil/Missions/Formerly-Used-Defense-Sites/Camp-Wheeler/.
United States of America, Bureau of the Census. Twelfth Census of the United States, 1900.
Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1900. T623, 1854 Rolls.
WWI Service Cards. “Paul R. Groover, Death Card.” WWI Statement of Service Summary
Cards, CLM-431, Georgia State Archives, 1919.