The following article appeared in the July 4th edition of the Parkersburg News-Sentinel.  Originally, both they and the local television station had committed to attending our presentation but this was the exact time the severe weather came through this area.  My thanks, though, to the local paper for publishing the article anyway.

 

Patriot Guard donates $3K for Nick Null memorial foundation

July 4, 2012
By NATALEE SEELY (nseely@newsandsentinel.com) , Parkersburg News and Sentinel

PARKERSBURG – The West Virginia Patriot Guard donated $3,000 Friday to a memorial foundation created by the family of local fallen soldier Nick Null.

The Nick Null Memorial Foundation was set up to honor the memory of Null and to erect a monument in City Park dedicated to fallen local soldiers.

“We had been in contact with the Null family for several months, and when we found out about the monument, we really wanted to give to that cause,” said Joe Cumblidge, captain of the West Virginia Patriot Guard.

A check for $3,000 was presented to Null’s family membera Friday at a dinner gathering at Ruby Tuesdays in Vienna.

The funds were raised at the Patriot Guard’s annual regional gathering last weekend. The event in Marietta featured a poker run, auctions and drawings.

The proposed monument to be erected in City Park will contain the names of the Navy SEALs killed Aug. 6, 2011, when a Chinook helicopter transporting Null’s team on a mission was shot down by Taliban foot soldiers in Afghanistan. Cumblidge said the monument will also contain the names of servicemen and women from the Mid-Ohio Valley who were killed since 9/11.

Null, a 1999 graduate of Parkersburg South High School, was born on March 30, 1982, in Parkersburg. He was an explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) technician and part of a special naval warfare unit. He enlisted in the Navy in September 2000 and served in Iraq and Afghanistan and won two Bronze Stars, including one with valor.