Posted on 10/07/2022 5:14:22 PM PDT by ApplegateRanch
Nelson was drafted into the U.S. Army on July 14, 1941, from Fort Cook, Nebraska, and entered World War II with Foxtrot Company, 2nd Battalion, 7th Infantry Regiment, 3rd ID. During his time with his unit, Nelson took part in Operation Torch in Morocco. Following the intense fighting in Northern Africa, Nelson also took part in Operation Husky in Sicily and Operations Avalanche and Shingle in Italy.
[snip]
According to Nelson, he had run out of ammunition, ran a couple hundred yards under enemy fire, climbed on top of an abandoned German tank and fired the machine gun at the enemy to allow his men to advance. However, a German saw Nelson and threw a hand grenade at him which hit his backpack. The grenade tore Nelson’s backpack apart and while he smelled blood, he could not find any on himself and continued shooting until the Germans finally surrendered.
(Excerpt) Read more at army.mil ...
Army Ping: 107 year old 3d Infantry Division veteran awarded Silver Star for combat actions in World War II.
ApplegateRanch, thank you for posting this article.
They don’t make ‘em like that any more!
We were with the 3rd ID when we were stationed in Germany around 1970+.
‘Face
;o]
Bone fide HERO.
Hand salute.
Bttt.
5.56mm
He’s not only 107 he’s in remarkable condition. That’s as amazing as his war record.
Both Harold Nelson and Audie Murphy appear to have been in the 3rd ID but in different regiments.
The article on Nelson doesn’t say exactly where his fight occurred.
Audie Murphy received the MoH for action in the Colmar Pocket which was about midway between Basel and Strasbourg.
Both were part of 7th Army which my dad was in, in an anti-aircraft unit. 7th Army took the brunt of “Operation Northwind”, the second act of the Battle of Bulge and last major offensive by the German army.
“eventually became Justice Robert Jackson’s personal cook”
Supreme Court Justice and Chief Prosecutor at Nuremberg.
Impressive resume. And he didn’t even have a law degree.
:^)
I’m not at all knocking Robert Jackson for lacking a law degree.
I think his great success points out the stupidity of worshipping a college degree as necessary for many professions, including law. “Credentialism”. STEM degrees are a whole different matter.
That about sums it up.
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