Moses Hogan was born in Brookstown, Louisiana in November 1921, the second of four children. His father worked for the power house in New Orleans, but during the difficult times of The Great Depression had to take work with the Works Progress Administration in New Orleans City Park. He died at 35. Hogan loved the segregated school that he attended, which only went to junior high. Hogan worked an after-school job, and he gave his pay to his mother. Hogan was recruited, with his mother's approval, into the Navy in 1939; he wanted to travel and see the world.

Moses Hogan's basic training was in Norfolk, Virginia, and he shipped out from San Diego, California. He was assigned to a destroyer in Pearl Harbor, and successively worked on a sea-going tug, a mine sweeper, and finally the USS Montgomery (DD-121). During the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hogan and three fellow sailors were sent to capture a downed Japanese pilot. The pilot refused, and the retrieval party came back with only his hat. A court martial cleared them of any wrongdoing. Soon afterward, their ship came upon a Japanese sampan with ten people aboard, apparently trying to escape, and although the crew wanted to shoot the Japanese, the captain would not allow it. Hogan remembered President Roosevelt's [Annotator's Note: President Franklin D. Roosevelt] speech declaring that the United States didn't want war, but we were being attacked. He was 24 at the time.

Moses Hogan was on the USS Montgomery (DD-121) when Pearl Harbor was attacked. As one of three stewards, he cooked and took care of the officers. Hogan served three-and-a-half years without leave. On the day of the Japanese attack, Hogan's ship was one of four tied to a buoy some distance from shore. Hogan had completed morning duties and was topside when he heard the guns going off and radio transmissions announcing, "We're being attacked!" The Japanese planes were passing overhead and Hogan observed the black smoke closer to shore. There was a period of confusion, but the sailors were called to battle stations right away, and Hogan passed .50 caliber shells to the gunners. When a downed Japanese pilot was spotted, Hogan was handed a pistol and ordered to board a motor boat to take him into custody, but Hogan was too late getting to the boat, and wasn't among the would-be captors. The pilot committed suicide. There were many explosions, and when the captain, who was ashore during the attack, eventually boarded and ordered the ship out of harbor, they learned that a two-man sub had infiltrated the protective net and sunk a ship. That sub was captured, raised and put on display.

Moses Hogan wasn't afraid. He didn't believe America would be attacked by the Japanese; after all, officials from that country were with the president, talking about peace up until the attack. Hogan vividly remembers explosions, fire, and smoke. He personally knew Dorie Miller [Annotator's Note: Messman 3rd Class Doris Miller] from Beaumont, Texas who, without ever having been trained, assumed a gunner's position and knocked down several Japanese planes. Hogan did not see any American planes; the American airplanes had been caught on the ground at Hickam Field, where all the soldiers and Marines were stationed. All personnel at Pearl Harbor were sailors. Hogan said there was a small enclave close to the docks where the Japanese conducted trade. Among them were fishermen who knew every ship in the harbor, and Hogan supposed the American sailors talked too much. After the attack, those Japanese were taken prisoner. Although the general mess on the ship was not good, Hogan said he cooked steak and other choice foods for the officers. Hogan was always a steward, always with the same officers. Hogan enjoyed shore trips and beer runs. He earned 21 dollars a month; when he made petty officer soon after Pearl Harbor, a 50 dollar allotment was sent to his mother.

Moses Hogan doesn't think movies about Pearl Harbor are authentic. After Pearl Harbor, Hogan was on a destroyer [Annotator's Note: USS Montgomery (DD-121)] whose duty was to go from island to island looking for submarines. The crew on his ship all got along like brothers, and shared duties. He met natives of his color on Fiji Island, and found segregation prevailed there too. Hogan crossed the equator several times, and on his first trip, underwent initiation ceremonies. He said being a shellback was better than being a pollywog. Hogan's destroyer also traveled through Puget Sound and up to Alaska, but never encountered another sub after Pearl Harbor. He was on a well equipped ship that had a sick bay, a dentist, and an iron works. For Hogan, his service was an educational experience.

His mother was surprised and excited when Moses Hogan came home on leave in 1943. After 30 days Moses went back to Pearl Harbor and assumed duty on the USS Sierra (AD-18) in the South China Sea. In 1945 he was discharged. At that time he didn't want to remain in the Navy because the pay wasn't very good; he now wishes he had remained in service, or joined the reserves, so that he would have a good Navy pension. Hogan got some training through the G.I. Bill, but couldn't get a job right away. Eventually, he settled into work at the Domino sugar refinery, and retired at the age of 65 after 32 years working there. Hogan bought a home and raised a family, and believes he is blessed. He is gratified that he is recognized as a Pearl Harbor veteran, and that people thank him for his service to the country.