Husband Henry Harrison Null 1 2
Born: 3 Oct 1893 - Ruffsdale, East Huntingdon Twp, Westmoreland Co, PA 2
Christened:
Died: 30 Jul 1918 - France 3
Buried:
Father: Col. Millard Fillmore Null (1854-1935) 4 5 6 7
Mother: Charlotta Bennett Bell ( - ) 6 7
Wife
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Children
General Notes: Husband - Henry Harrison Null
In 1901 his parents moved to Greensburg, and there he attended school and grew to manhood. He was a member of the graduating class of 1912 of the Greensburg High School. The natural bent of his mind led him into drafting and architectural work. After spending considerable time in studying these branches, he secured employment in the office of the county road engineer. In the fall of 1913 he entered the Carnegie Technical Institute in Pittsburgh, where he remained one year. He then, through his own efforts entirely, secured an appointment in the United States Geological Survey Department, and was sent to do field work in Michigan, after which he was transferred to do work in Oregon and other North Pacific States. He remained there until he was called from that work because of serious illness in his father's family. Remaining in Greensburg but a short time, he then secured employment in one of the department offices of the Jones & Laughlin Steel Company of Pittsburgh. There he was actively employed until the fall of 1917, when he enlisted as a private in the headquarters company of the Tenth (generally known as the "Fighting Tenth") Regiment. On September 7, he, with other young men from Greensburg, bade good-bye to his friends and entrained with the regiment for Camp Hancock, at Augusta, Georgia. Shortly after his enlistment he was made an orderly at company headquarters. He remained with the regiment in Augusta until the following April, when they were transferred to Camp Merritt, near New York, and were united with the Twenty-eighth Division, known in the great World War as the "Iron Division." On May 3 they embarked for France. Landing in England, they were hurried across the English Channel, and being part of the National Guard of Pennsylvania, and having been thoroughly drilled at Augusta, they were soon placed on the front line of battle.
The duties of an orderly required him to carry messages from one commanding officer to another, and were most hazardous, indeed, and called for active young men of undaunted courage, of quick decision, and of unerring judgment. They had to carry messages and carry them over an unknown country-messages directing the methods of attack, messages of great importance, which would be of untold value to the enemy, and were frequently compelled to carry them in the night time and without lights to guide them.
On account of the restrictions and censorship of the army, little is known of his personal service in this line of duty, but his friends later confirmed that his services were eminently satisfactory to his commanders.
Late in July, 1918, in the battle of the Ourcq, which was a continuation of the second battle of the Marne, the American forces were in the first line of battle and were contending for the possession of the hills and woods east of Courmont near Chateau-Thierry. These positions were of great strategic value to the enemy in their position on the eastern side of the Marne, and the German forces only relinquished them after several days of bitter contest. Through the heroic work of the American forces, the Germans were gradually pushed back, and were finally, on July 30, forced to a hasty retreat. This greatly aroused the wrath of the Germans, and they began to shell most violently all the regions occupied by the pursuing American forces. They were using high explosive shells of large caliber. The regimental headquarters were in a stone building, and both Henry Harrison Null and his companion, from his youth, Edward H. Bair, Jr., were on duty in the afternoon at headquarters. A highly explosive shell of large caliber struck the building and completely wrecked it. Both Null and Bair and fourteen others, including some German prisoners, were killed, while many were wounded.
To quote from a letter written by Captain Charles Schall, chaplain of the One Hundred and Tenth Regiment and pastor of the First Presbyterian Church of Greensburg, a letter written to his parents and bearing the date of August 5, 1918, says, among other things:
* * * Harrison was killed on July 30, about 3:30 P. M. He and I were very intimate in the work over here, and I mourn his death with great sorrow. I was not a great distance from the building when it was wrecked and ran over immediately. Harrison's body and that of Edward Bair were soon recovered and I buried them side by side as soon as preparation could be made. Their graves are near Courmont and overlook a beautiful part of France. Your son was full of devotion to his work and was doing it most efficiently. He is the first member of our church in the service up to this time to pass to the great Beyond.
In a letter to his aunt, written some time before his death, he had the precision and fortitude to write the following words:
I desire to recommend the army for any one. I care not who he is. The experience is wonderful and I would not be without it. I believe every soldier here has the proper feeling. They are not worrying over what may happen, but worrying for fear they will not have a hand in bringing about the victory we are sure to secure.
From 1909 he was a member of the First Presbyterian Church of Greensburg. He was also a member of the Greensburg Country Club, and took a great interest both in the religious and social work of his home town. In stature he was about six feet, was very active and quick in his movements and rather slenderly built, though a young man of perfect health. Nature was generous to him by giving him an unusually bright and cheerful disposition. He always looked on the glowing side of life, and was greatly admired by those with whom he associated on account of his splendid temperament and his uprightness of character.