- Rank:
- Branch:
- Home Town:
- Date Of Birth:
- Disposition:
- Family DNA on File:
F3c Richard Eugene Nelson
Richard Eugene Nelson was the son of a World War I Army veteran.
The son was born June 30, 1921 in Harwood just north of Fargo in east-central North Dakota, and completed high school in nearby Argusville. He joined the Navy on Oct. 8, 1940, and was a fireman third class on the U.S.S. Arizona when he was killed in the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Dec. 7, 1941.
There is a cenotaph for the younger Nelson in the Maple Sheyenne Cemetery in Harwood. American Legion Post #297 in Harwood was named in his memory.
His father, Axel Nelson, was a maintenance laborer for a steam railroad, according to the 1940 Census. His wife, Ethel, was a homemaker. Richard was the oldest of their four children.
Sources: Application for military headstone; The Fargo Forum; Veterans Affairs death file; US Census; town of Harwood. This profile was researched and written on behalf of the U.S.S. Arizona Mall Memorial at the University of Arizona.