Cpl. Harold R. Kerr remembered for his brave sacrifice at age 19
By Graysen Ullom*
Special to the Examiner
On Feb. 25, 1899, Harold Root Kerr was born in Sidney, Ohio, to Mr. and Mrs. J.M. Kerr. The family moved to Bellefontaine, where Kerr attended Bellefontaine High School and was described as popular with many friends in the area.
After the United States declared war on Germany in April 1917, Kerr was one of the first in the area to enlist, where he served in the United States Marine Corps.
After completing training at Paris Island, S.C., and Quantico, Va., Harold Kerr was assigned to the 17th Company, 5th Regiment of the Marines. Four months later, he embarked overseas, where he served on the Western Front in France.
In a letter sent by Corporal Royal E. Fowle, a Marine in the same company, he described the scene where Harold Kerr earned the Croix de Guerre, for his great act of bravery.
Fowle writes, “Harold, with eleven others and a Lieutenant, repulsed a German attack… they rested their rifles against the trees and shot the Germans down as they came at them through the wheat field. They certainly did mow them down and drove the whole bunch back as fast as they could beat it.”
On June 16, 1918, Corporal Harold R. Kerr was killed in action near Château-Thierry, France. At 19 years old, Kerr was the first serviceman from Logan County to be killed in action during World War I.
In a telegram from Major General George Barnett, he expressed the Marine Corps’ “heartfelt sympathy” to the family and confirmed Kerr’s remains would be held abroad until the war’s end.
Harold R. Kerr left a lasting legacy for Bellefontaine, Ohio. In October of 1918, a memorial tree was planted and a plate with his name was placed in the courthouse yard in his honor. Later on, American Legion Post No. 173 was named for him. The Post has since established a war memorial at Bellefontaine High School and a World War I memorial in downtown Bellefontaine.
* Editor’s note: Graysen Ullom is a 2022 Indian Lake High School graduate and is currently a student at Ohio Northern University, set to graduate in May 2026 with a bachelor of science degree in psychology. She completed this biographical research paper on Harold Kerr as an assignment for her World War I course.
