This story relates to: Col. Hiram B Ely (1896-1987)
Legion of Merit Award
Hiram Ely Sr took military leave of absence from his work at Bell Laboratories when, on August 14, 1941, he was recalled to active duty during World War II.
For the first year and a half he worked in the Office of the Chief of Ordnance in the Pentagon Building with the Assistant Chief of Ordnance in charge of procurement and production. Thereafter he was assigned to Frankford Arsenal, where he had previously been stationed seven years, as Chief of the Field Service Sub-Office. As such he was responsible for the maintenance and supply of all fire-control instruments and all anti-aircraft artillery.
Establishing maintenance policies was his major job together with maintaining spare-parts lists, managing stock control in the ten basic warehouses throughout the country and securing technical manuals to accompany equipment.
Among the 50,000 fire-control items supplied to the Army through his office there were binoculars, watches, 500 other optical instruments, M-9 directors and M-8 gun data computers. Twenty-five officers and fifty enlisted men attended the Laboratories School for War Training and were subsequently sent to theaters of operation to demonstrate equipment.[1]
For his outstanding achievements as Chief of the Field Service Sub-Office, Hiram was awarded the Legion of Merit (LOM). The Legion of Merit is one of the U.S. military's most prestigious awards, ranking just below the Silver Star, and ahead of the Distinguished Flying Cross. It is given for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievements.
The citation accompanying the Hiram’s Legion of Merit reads:
By application of effective managerial ability, Colonel Ely established, and for two years directed, operations in an exceptionally meritorious manner and with a record of accomplishments which constituted a major contribution to the fulfillment of the overall mission of the Ordnance Department. His office served as a centralized agency for the effective coordination of all Field Service activities in connection with the supply and maintenance of Fire Control and Antiaircraft Artillery matériel.
Under his guidance and supervision, the Frankford Ordnance Depot met with an unparalleled operating record—the challenge of a 1,000 per cent increase in business; the problems of maintenance and supply of new matériel were successfully handled; the supply publications were revised and stock properly identified; and a central stock control office for Fire Control and Antiaircraft Artillery materiel was created.[2]
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Footnotes & Sources
- [1] Bell Laboratories Record, Nov 1945, Vol XXIII, Number XI, p 436. A publication of the Bell System of the American Telephone and Telegraph Company from 1925 to 1984. Sourced from https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Bell_Laboratories_Record_Issue_Key.htm
- [2] Bell Laboratories Record, Feb 1946, Vol XXIV, Number II, pp 75-76.
Published 8 August 2025