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3rd Infantry Division presents Silver Star award to 107-year-old World War II veteran

3rd Infantry Division

Oct. 5, 2022 | 2:18

The 3rd Infantry Division presented the Silver Star Medal on Oct. 4, 2022, to U.S. Army Soldier Staff Sgt. Harold Nelson who fought in World War II from November 1942 to June 1944. Nelson, 107 years old, was approved for the Silver Star Medal on June 22, 2022, by the Army’s Human Resources Command. U.S. Army Maj. General Charles Costanza, the 3rd Infantry Division Commanding General, presented the award to Nelson at a ceremony on Fort Carson, Colorado, hosted by the 4th Infantry Division.
Nelson was drafted into the U.S. Army on July 14, 1941, from Fort Crook, Nebraska. He entered World War II with F Company, 2nd Battalion, 7th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division, as part of Operation Torch in Morocco. Following intense fighting in Northern Africa, Nelson participated in Operation Husky in Sicily, and Operations Avalanche and Shingle in Italy. In total, Nelson participated in six amphibious landings and lived in austere and
dangerous conditions for two years during 3rd Infantry Division’s World War II
campaign. During his wartime service, he sustained three gunshot wounds and was eventually discharged from the Army in June 1945. In 2019, Nelson petitioned the Army Board for Corrections of Military Records to determine if he should be awarded the Silver Star. Nelson’s records were partially destroyed in a fire in 1973 at the military records storage facility, which reduced the amount of supporting documents Nelson could submit along with his petition.
Ultimately, the board awarded Nelson the Silver Star based on his detailed account of combat during World War II and a letter from his then-commander, Capt. James Pearman Jr., who described his efforts to award Nelson the Silver Star Medal.
Carolee Soden, Nelson's oldest daughter, was instrumental in the pursuit of Nelson’s Silver Star award, spending countless hours working with different organizations for recognition for her father.