Talmage Gerrald was born in South Carolina in December 1895, the oldest child of Charles Kindred and Martha “Mattie” Elvington Gerrald.  He attended the Furman Fitting School in Greenville from 1912 to 1914. He later joined the military and eventually became a Corporal in the American Expeditionary Forces in France.

On May 29, 1918, Talmage Gerrald was killed in action in Cantigny, France. According to a General Order dated June 22, 1918 included in this collection, Gerrald was cited “for conspicuous gallantry in action during the operations connected with the capture and defense of Cantigny, May 27-31, 1918.” A statement also in this order reported that “without regard to personal danger [Gerrald] assisted in carrying a wounded man to a first aid station through heavy shell fire during which action, he, himself, was killed.”

Gerrald’s service is commemorated on the Doughboy statute in Childers Plaza on the Furman University campus.