He was in the United States Army Air Corps as an observation pilot and as an adjutant in the 111th Infantry Regiment from 1917 to 1919.

He was an unsuccessful candidate for District Attorney of Philadelphia County in 1931 and for election to the 74th United States Congress in 1934.

[1] In March, 1946, President Harry S. Truman awarded McGranery the Medal for Merit, at the time the highest civilian decoration in the United States.

[1][2] In 1952, McGranery revoked the re-entry permit of Charlie Chaplin while the actor was voluntarily abroad, following concerns over communist sympathies.

To re-enter the country, Chaplin was required by immigration law to answer questions regarding “moral turpitude,” and he instead chose to remain abroad for twenty years.