Wiliam Harvey Nelson registered for the draft on June 8, 1943. He was 18 years old, 5’10” tall, and weighed 145 pounds. He had brown hair, hazel eyes, and a light complexion. He was a high school student at the time of registration. William was inducted into the United States Army on April 6, 1944 at Fort Lewis, Washington. He was single, without dependents, and had completed three years of high school.

Private William H. Nelson served as a replacement soldier in Company E, 14th Infantry Regiment, 71st Infantry Division. The 14th sailed for France on January 26, 1945. They quickly moved across France to the uncleared sector in the Saar-Moselle Triangle in Germany. They then pursued the retreating enemy troops across Germany. As they reached the town of Altenstadt, north of Hanau, they encountered a column of about 500 German soldiers from the 6th SS Mountain Division. On April 2, after a brisk skirmish, the Germans scattered into the nearby woods. The 16th Regiment spent the next several days rounding up prisoners and conducting door-to-door searches to trap the remnants of the 6th SS Mountain Division.

In his first experience in battle, Private William H. Nelson was killed in action on April 2, 1945. His remains were returned to the United States in 1949 and reinterred in the Evergreen-Washelli Memorial Park, Seattle, King County, Washington (Section 8). He was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart.

This story is part of the Stories Behind the Stars project

(see www.storiesbehindthestars.org). This is a national effort of volunteers to

write the stories of all 421,000+ of the US WWII fallen saved on Together We

Served and Fold3. Can you help write these stories? These stories will be

accessible via smartphone app at any war memorial or cemetery.

If you noticed anything erroneous in this profile or have

additional information to contribute to it, please contact me at

clock902@aol.com.

SBTSProject/Washington/King County

Sources:

The Seattle Daily Times, Tuesday, Apr 17, 1945, Seattle, WA, Page: 2, https://www.genealogybank.com/doc/newspapers/image/v2%3A127D718D1E33F961%40GB3NEWS-12A713C732C2509E%402431563-12A3622FE798CF48%401-12A3622FE798CF48%40?h=2&fname=william%20h.&lname=nelson&fullname=william%20h.%20nelson&exsrch=1&kwinc=&kwexc=&sort=old&rgfromDate=1945&rgtoDate=1949&formDate=&formDateFlex=exact&dateType=range&processingtime=&addedFrom=&addedTo=&sid=ezpigvbgbbtrpqlmzywqyrptuvoxbvsz_wma-gateway007_1696122697213

WWII Hospital Admission Card Files, 1942-1954, https://www.fold3.com/record/700679489/nelson-william-h-us-wwii-hospital-admission-card-files-1942-1954

WWII Army and Army Air Force Casualty List, 1946, https://www.fold3.com/image/310763533?rec=299423851

Findagrave, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/119123405/william-h-nelson

The Seattle Star, 19 Apr 1945, Thu · Page 8, https://www.newspapers.com/image/773554423?utm_source=fold3.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=Fold3&_gl=1*f576h7*_ga*MTc4MzU0Njg5OS4xNjQ5ODg0OTQw*_ga_4QT8FMEX30*MTY5NjEyMjEyNi41NDUuMS4xNjk2MTIzODcxLjcuMC4w

WWII Army Enlistment Records, 1938-1946, https://www.fold3.com/record/91044088/william-h-nelson-us-wwii-army-enlistment-records-1938-1946

1930 United States Federal Census, https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/111992263:6224?_gl=1*bd680r*_ga*MTc4MzU0Njg5OS4xNjQ5ODg0OTQw*_ga_4QT8FMEX30*MTY5NjEyMjEyNi41NDUuMS4xNjk2MTIzOTQxLjQ4LjAuMA..

1940 United States Federal Census, https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/72957150:2442?_gl=1*id945o*_ga*MTc4MzU0Njg5OS4xNjQ5ODg0OTQw*_ga_4QT8FMEX30*MTY5NjEyMjEyNi41NDUuMS4xNjk2MTIzOTQxLjQ4LjAuMA..

Headstone Applications for Military Veterans, 1861-1985, https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/1519553:2375?tid=&pid=&queryId=fc47cf1fc1f78ccfee1e26f56e84e9c6&_phsrc=uCD239&_phstart=successSource&_gl=1*id945o*_ga*MTc4MzU0Njg5OS4xNjQ5ODg0OTQw*_ga_4QT8FMEX30*MTY5NjEyMjEyNi41NDUuMS4xNjk2MTIzOTQxLjQ4LjAuMA..

Washington, County Birth Registers, 1873-1965, https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:6C5D-8FMM

World War II Draft Cards Young Men, 1940-1947, https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/37047415:2238?_gl=1*12gf0v8*_ga*MTc4MzU0Njg5OS4xNjQ5ODg0OTQw*_ga_4QT8FMEX30*MTY5NjEyMjEyNi41NDUuMS4xNjk2MTI0MTM0LjE4LjAuMA..

The Fourteenth Infantry Regiment, http://www.i-kirk.info/14thInfantry/8-WWII/1945-04%2014th%20Infantry%20Unit%20History.pdf

William H Nelson