Case Study: Robert Ingram

Royston Albert Ingram was born in the year 1904 in Forsythe County, Georgia. He was born a few years before the start of the First World War or as it was also known as the Great War. This war would kick start a series of events that eventually lead to war veterans getting better treatment from both the public and the government. In 1928, Royston Ingram opened the Ingrams Funeral Home at the age of twenty-three years old according to the Ingram’s website. Even though the funeral home business was not a new field, Royston still made a comfortable living for himself and even started a family next year by marrying Myrtle Ellene Phillips and having several children with her. He ran his business successfully through the Roaring Twenties, the Great Depression, and even the New Deal. At the age of thirty seven, Ingram enlisted into the US military as the United States had entered World War II in 1941. While it is largely unknown in which theater he fought in or when he returned to Forsythe County, but we do know that he came back alive from the war. We have no records of him being checked into a veteran's hospital, so it is safe to assume that he came out of his military service physically unscathed. He returned to continue to run his business like normal in the Post-War era. By the time of his death in 1975, he had left behind a successful business as his legacy. While Royston Ingram lived a comfortable life as a result of his successful funeral home, it can be quite apparent that he was a little better off than other World War II veterans. It is unknown whether or not he benefitted from the G.I. Bill himself, but his funeral home is still running today in Forsythe County under the management of his childern.