Hargrave, Roger, 1911-1980

Roger J. Hargrave was born in Sioux Township, Clay County, Iowa to parents Wallace and Sadie Hargrave on April 22, 1911. His fraternal grandparents James Joseph and Jane Hargrave were pioneer homesteaders in Clay County and Roger himself maintained close ties to the state throughout his young adult life. He attended the local Sioux Township grade school and graduated from Gillett Grove High School, Gillett, Iowa in 1928. Beginning in October 1933, Hargrave served for two years in company no. 1750 of the Civilian Conservation Corp to help his family through the Depression. Prior to this, Hargrave had dropped out of the State University of Iowa due to lack of funds, but returned and graduated with a B.S. in 1936. As an undergraduate, Hargrave engaged in amateur boxing, winning several championships that helped finance some of his college expenses. He also became involved in student activism, especially in the Iowa Branch of the American Student Union, during his last year.

In 1937, Hargrave decided to volunteer for the Spanish Civil War on the side of the Republic. Along with his roommate, Milton Felsen, Hargrave sailed to Paris in March, making a journey to Paris, southern France, the Riviera, and then back to Paris, where the two men enlisted at the office of the American Medical Bureau. Hargrave and his roommate were assigned to an ambulance train under Dr. Randall Sollenberger in Albacete, Spain, the latter as the driver and the former dispensing first aid. In June, Hargrave moved to the Jarama front. After an exploding shell killed Sollenberger, Hargrave was then transferred to Dr. Mark Strass’s medical staff. In July, he was transferred to the Brunete front with the George Washington Battalion. There, he suffered shrapnel wounds and was sent to a hospital in Madrid, where he convalesced for four months. Hargrave spent an additional several months in rest homes in Southern Spain and Barcelona, where he met author Ernest Hemingway and pivotal figure in the Indian independence movement Jawaharlal Nehru, about whom Hargrave would later write his PhD dissertation.

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