Virginia to honor Army chaplain killed in 1918

From FayObserver.com: Virginia to honor Army chaplain killed in 1918
The remains of Thomas McNeil Bulla rest in a small family cemetery in Vander.

On the moss-covered tombstone, which stands roughly 5 feet tall, a weathered engraving identifies Bulla as a second son and a man of God. No mention is made of his military service outside a small American Legion marker on the grave.

Bulla died in France in 1918 after being wounded during what historians have called America's bloodiest battle of World War I.

At the time, Bulla's family was notified with a simple telegraph delivered nearly two months after his death. His sacrifice earned him no awards or recognition.

But on Monday, the 93rd anniversary of Bulla's death, the Cumberland County native will be honored as a World War I hero in Virginia, where he will posthumously receive that state's highest award.

Bulla, a first lieutenant in the Virginia National Guard, was wounded in the Battle of the Meuse and died from loss of blood two days later.

But Bulla was different from most of the more than 26,000 American soldiers to die in the battle that pitted American and French troops against Germany's 5th Army.

That's because Bulla, despite spending most of his time on the front lines, did not carry a gun.

An Army chaplain who volunteered for service years earlier, Bulla carried first aid kits and a canteen of water, treating wounded soldiers physically and spiritually as he helped them to the rear of the battlefield.

Historical accounts and letters to Bulla's family reveal the 37-year-old chaplain was routinely warned about his proximity to danger but he refused to stay in the rear as other chaplains did.

Bulla's ministry caught the attention of commanders and fellow soldiers alike.

One letter to Bulla's parents recalls a heavy bombardment of the town of Vauthiermont in northeastern France. As bombs burst and soldiers throughout the town braced against shrapnel, Bulla sat calmly at an organ leading other soldiers in singing the hymn "Nearer My God to Thee," the letter says.

Back in North Carolina, the tales of Bulla's time in France were largely lost to his family as siblings and parents passed away.

William Bulla, a nephew and his closest relative, said he knew little of his uncle before 1999, when Virginia dedicated a highway marker outside First Presbyterian Church of Emporia, where Bulla led a congregation before heading to war.

"I had just briefly heard of him," William Bulla said. "I just knew he was a devoted Christian man who was killed in France and buried here a couple of years later."

In the years since, family members discovered the letters to Bulla's parents, which brought a better understanding of his sacrifice.

There also has been a push to recognize Bulla by the Virginia National Guard, which dedicated a chapel at Fort Pickett, Va., to him earlier this year.

Those efforts will culminate in the ceremony Monday, to be held at Bulla's former church in Emporia.

"It is long past time to honor the deeds of this soldier who sacrificed his life that other men might live," said Virginia National Guard historian John W. Listman Jr.

Listman called it fitting that the Virginia National Guard correct the omission made after Bulla's death and recognize the chaplain for "his dedication above the call of duty."

William Bulla will receive the Virginia Distinguished Service Medal at Monday's ceremony. He said he will then return the medal to officials, who will display it either in Emporia or at the Fort Pickett chapel named in honor of his uncle.