Hallie Jackson Closser

The following profile was researched and compiled by Candice L. Buchanan and Glenn J. R. T. Toothman III, for publication in "The Rain Day Boys: The Greene That Lay Near Grimpettes Woods" (2017). Learn more at RainDayBoys.com.

Birth: 14 February 1885 Greene County, Pennsylvania[i]

Parents: James Wesley Closser and Ella Garner[ii]

Residence at time of enlistment: 124 South Richhill Street, Waynesburg, Greene County, Pennsylvania[iii]

Physical description: 5 feet 9 inches tall, fair complexion, brown eyes, dark hair[iv]

Death: Killed in action 29 July 1918 Cierges, Picardie, France[v]

Age at death: 33 years old

Last resting place: 24 July 1921 Oakmont Cemetery, Franklin Township, Greene County, Pennsylvania[vi]

Military rank: Serial No. 1241427. Private First Class. Company K, 110th Infantry, 28th Division.

Witness account of death: Statement given by Sgt. Charles A. Smith. “I saw Hallie Closser when he was hit by Machine Gun fire on July 30 1918, he was killed instantly. He was in my squad and we were lying down on hill 212, near Sergy. He was hit in the head, the bullet going through his helmet. He did not say a word the only movement he made was a slight move of the shoulders.”[vii]

This official statement by Charles A. Smith, indicating that Hallie was killed in action on July 30, is contradicted by Fred Cleavenger’s vivid account of July 29, “Three men on my left, Zahniser, Closser and Murphy, all Greene countians, were killed as we lay there.”[viii] This ambiguity is common in the reports and records of the battle.

Additional information:

Hallie was roughly a decade older than most of the soldiers who left Greene County to fight for their country during the Great War. He joined the military prior to World War I, having first served on the Mexican border with Company K in 1916.[ix]

Unlike many of his comrades, who were still in or just finishing school, Hallie had the opportunity to establish himself as a successful farmer before enlistment.

When his funeral services were held 24 July 1921, from the First Baptist Church in Waynesburg, like those of most local fallen soldiers, the crowd of attendees overflowed the church and poured into the street outside.[x]

In 1934, James W. Closser, Hallie's father, was granted $10.00 a month for 20 months as part of the Pennsylvania Veteran’s Compensation Act, on behalf of his son.[xi]

 

[i] Oakmont Cemetery (Franklin Township, Greene County, Pennsylvania; on Route 19, near Waynesburg), Hallie J. Closser tombstone, Section Circle, Lot 16; personally read by Candice Buchanan, 2008.

[ii] Pennsylvania, Death Certificates, 1906-1963, no. 106102, Ella G. Closser, 1930 and no. 57688, James Westley Closser, 1935; digital images, Ancestry.com (www.Ancestry.com : accessed 14 October 2017); Pennsylvania Death certificates, 1906–1963 (Series 11.90), Records of the Pennsylvania Department of Health (Record Group 11), Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

1900 U.S. census, Washington Township, Greene County, Pennsylvania, population schedule, rural, enumeration district (ED) 102, page 246A (stamped)/5 (written), dwelling 82, family 82, James W. Closser household; digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 14 October 2017); National Archives microfilm publication T623, roll 1414.

Greene County, Pennsylvania, Will Book 14: 135, estate file no. 8645, Hallie J. Closser Will and Estate; Office of the Register & Recorder, Greene County Courthouse, Waynesburg. Nephews named as beneficiaries.

[iii] "United States, Army Transport Service Passenger Lists 1910-1939," digital images, Ancestry.com (http://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=61174 : accessed 14 October 2017), Hallie J. Closser entry, line 79, page 33, Ausonia, box 373; citing Lists of Outgoing Passengers, 1917-1938. Textual records. 255 Boxes. NAI: 6234477. Record Group Title: Records of the Office of the Quartermaster General, 1774-1985. Record Group Number 92. National Archives, College Park, Maryland.

[iv] "PA National Guard Veterans' Card File, 1867-1921," digital images, Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission (PHMC), Pennsylvania State Archives Records Information Access System (www.digitalarchives.state.pa.us/archive.asp: viewed 12 November 2017), Hallie Jackson Closser, Private, Co K, 10th Inf., P. N. G.; citing Pennsylvania State Archives, series #19.135.

[v] “Graphic Description of Battle” article, Waynesburg Republican, Waynesburg, Pennsylvania, 2 January 1919, page 1, columns 7-8.

Greene County, Pennsylvania, Will Book 14: 135, estate file no. 8645.

Oakmont Cemetery (Franklin Township, Greene County, Pennsylvania), Hallie J. Closser tombstone.

"Our County's Honored Dead" article, Waynesburg Republican, Waynesburg, Pennsylvania, 29 August 1918.

"WWI Veterans Service and Compensation Files, 1917-1919, 1934-1948," digital images, Ancestry.com (http://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=60884 : accessed 9 October 2017), James W. Closser, father of Hallie J. Closser - application no. 253135; citing World War I Veterans Service and Compensation File, 1934–1948 (RG 19, Series 19.91), Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission (PHMC), Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

[vi] Pennsylvania Bureau of Veterans Affairs Office (County Level), "Pennsylvania, Veterans Burial Cards, 1777-1999," digital images, Ancestry.com (http://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=1967 : accessed 14 October 2017), Hallie J. Closser card, WWI; citing Greene County; information given by H. L. Dunlap, 22 November 1934.

Oakmont Cemetery (Franklin Township, Greene County, Pennsylvania), Hallie J. Closser tombstone.

"Bodies of Company K Men Laid to Rest" article, Waynesburg Republican, Waynesburg, Pennsylvania, 28 July 1921.

[vii] "WWI Veterans Service and Compensation Files, 1917-1919, 1934-1948," digital images, Ancestry.com, James W. Closser, father of Hallie J. Closser - application no. 253135.

[viii] “Graphic Description of Battle” article, Waynesburg Republican, Waynesburg, Pennsylvania, 2 January 1919, page 1, columns 7-8.

[ix] "Mexican Border Campaign Veterans' Card File," digital images, Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission (PHMC), Pennsylvania State Archives Records Information Access System (www.digitalarchives.state.pa.us/archive.asp: viewed 12 November 2017), Hallie J. Closser, Private, 10th Inf., Co. K; citing Pennsylvania State Archives, series #19.110.

[x] "Bodies of Company K Men Laid to Rest" article, Waynesburg Republican, Waynesburg, Pennsylvania, 28 July 1921.

[xi] "WWI Veterans Service and Compensation Files, 1917-1919, 1934-1948," digital images, Ancestry.com, James W. Closser, father of Hallie J. Closser - application no. 253135.