Bernard Karl Louis Nicolaisen

 *No plaque located*

*The List of Liberty Row Names indicates the possible original location of the plaque*

Birth: 8/27/1889, Cleveland, Ohio

Address: 2356 W. 41st St., Cleveland, OH (also listed as 2349 W. 41st St., Cleveland, OH

Demographics: age 27 at draft registration; Caucasian; native-born Clevelander; occupation at time of marriage Carpenter; occupation at time of draft registration Salesman at Cleveland Jefferey Auto Co., Cleveland, OH [company may have been based in Kenosha, WI]

Appearance: Height medium, Build medium, Eyes blue, Hair brown

Marriage: married on 6/29/1911 at age 21 to Leota E. Wershing, age 17; reported occupation as Carpenter. Widow Leota E. Wershing Nicolaisen (1894-1968) worked as a Saleslady after her husband died. She remarried in 1922 at age 28 to Paul H. Winger, age 33, a Pharmacist. There were no known children from either marriage.

Draft Date/Enlistment Date/Rank: 6/5/1917; 5/25/1918; Sergeant

Service Number: 2657850

Deployment: 7/21/1918 from New York aboard

Action: 17 Co 2 Inf Repl Regt to July 12/18; Co B 116 Sup Tn to death. Pvt May 25/18; Sgt June 15/18; 1 Sgt July 12/18; Sgt Sept 10/18. AEF July 21/18 to death.

Death: October 1, 1918 [5 weeks before Armistice Day on November 11, 1918] at age 28; cause of death Lobar Pneumonia  

Burial: buried locally in France after death; 9/11/1920 remains disinterred and prepared for return to U.S. arriving Saint-Nazaire, France 9/15/1920; 10/1/1920 remains shipped from Saint-Nazaire to Hoboken, NJ aboard SS Pocahontas arriving Hoboken 10/18/1920; 11/6/1920 remains shipped from Hoboken to Cleveland, OH arriving Cleveland to the care of Weber & Hoesch Undertakers, 4160 Lorain Ave., Cleveland, OH; final burial 11/10/1920 at West Park Cemetery, 3942 Ridge Rd., Cleveland, OH, Section 22 Lot 465 Grave 1 So., where his parents were buried later, gravestone inscription read: "Died in France" 

Next of Kin: Mrs. Henry Nicolaisen, mother, 2356 W. 41st St., Cleveland, OH

Additional Information: 

Father: Heinrich Henry Marcus Matthias Nicolaisen (1860-1936), born Germany, emigrated ~1881, occupation in 1910 Farmer at Truck Farm, buried West Park Cemetery; Mother: Bertha Auguste Wenzel Nicolaisen (1864-1959), born Germany, emigrated ~1882, had 4 children of whom 2 sons survived; buried West Park Cemetery; Brother: Older brother Henry Bernard Nicolaisen (1886-1980) also served in WWI. The brothers enlisted and deployed approximately one month apart. Henry was honorably discharged on 7/12/1919. Henry named his son Bernard, presumably after his deceased younger brother. This namesake nephew Bernard Henry "Nic" Nicolaisen (11/12/1920-2015) was born 6 days after the final burial of his uncle Sergeant Bernhard Karl Louis Nicolaisen and served in the military in WWII. The inscription on his gravestone read: "He was a good man."