Haddam WWI Veteran: Harry Severen Nilsen

Submitted by R. Thurston Clark, Haddam Neck.

Harry Severen Nilsen was born May 5, 1890 in Manhattan, on East 22^nd Street; two years later he was joined by a sister Ellen Emelia.  At about 10 years old he was with his step dad, Otto Nilsen, in Greenpoint, N.Y.  This was an area where a lot of Scandia’s settled, as well as those involved in seafaring activities.  At age 22 we find Harry in Hartford, CT.  Otto liked CT also, so he bought a farm in Haddam Neck.  That farm would later be Harry’s homestead when he returned from the war and married Ruth Dreilick in 1920.

On June 5, 1917, shortly after World War I broke out, he “joined up to go over there” with many of his Hartford buddies.  Initially he was part of the Army’s 309^th Field Artillery, Battery A in New York City, and stationed there through January 29, 1918.  Then Corporal Nilsen was shipped overseas to became part of the American Expeditionary Forces / Occupation Forces, that were stationed on the coast at Verdun, France.  He was then in the Ordinance Division repairing trucks, tractors and the like, and remained there from July 9, 1918 through March 31, 1919.  The war ended in Germany with the signing of the Armistice on November 11, 1918.

When his discharge was imminent, he requested a six month extension to visit the Rhineland and hopefully to locate his friend Nils who was with the Army’s 3^rd Division there.  He managed to get a ride as far as Koblez, Germany and then made out on foot for the last 20 miles to Mayes (Mainz), Germany.  Near the end of his journey, he was offered a lift in the sidecar of a motorcycle.  It was a wild ride because the driver was in a hurry, and the roads were in poor shape.  This forced Harry to keep his eyes closed most of the way to shield them from the wind.  He had little trouble finding Nils and spent some time with him, including a trip to the Neuschwanstein Castle in Bavaria.  There you were allowed to tour that castle, but first had to remove your shoes.  For those who don’t recognize this castle by name, it was featured in the movie “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.”  Toward the end of his extension he returned to his Division in France and was shortly shipped home in September of 1919.

Harry Severen Nilsen was Thurston Clark’s grandfather.