Memorial

Biography

The following story was provided to us by his cousin, William Savage: Uncle Koon was a couple of years younger than Mom and a couple of years older than Aunt Virginia. I have some good memories of him although when he went into the army I was only about 6 or 7. When we lived in my Grandparents house (we moved in about the time my Dad was admitted to the tuberculosis sanitorium) I got to know him quite well and have some fond memories. He used to lie on the floor in the living room by the oil stove and read the newspaper. I would lie beside him and do the same (this was before I learned to read). He had many friends who belongs to the Swinomish tribe and he had pictures of Indians in war bonnets in his bedroom. Mom always told the story of how he dressed up as a wild Indian, came to the front door, and scared my grandmother half to death. Another time Koon and my Dad came home quite drunk. Grandma Nelson blamed by Dad, but Mom said it was just as much Koon’s fault. Mom also told of the time when Uncle Koon jumped from the hayloft in the barn in the backyard using an umbrella for a parachute; but luckily, he wasn’t hurt. He was quite talented. He played the clarinet and the saxophone in local orchestras and jazz bands. He was also a member of the La Conner Volunteer Fire Department. He called me “Slunk”. He had started to call me “Slug”, but when I tried to say it, it came out as Slunk; and, Slunk it remained. Uncle Kenneth had a Plymouth coupe. It was probably a late 1930’s or 1940 model. One time when I was about 3 years old and was riding in it, he told me to push on the button on the glove compartment and push as hard as I could. When I did, he honked the horn. I thought I did it. He did that several times, and I never caught on. Uncle Koon will always be a hero to me. He joined the army during World War II. He didn’t have to serve, as he was considered too old to fight (he was 36 or 37). He failed the physical the first two times, but he was determined to serve, and was accepted on the third try. He took his basic training at Camp Beale near Marysville, California. He came home for a visit following basic training, which was the last time we saw him. He was attached to the 120th Infantry Regiment. His unit went ashore at Normandy on or about D-Day +5. They headed for Paris at first but then turned north at St. Lo. His unit fought their way through northern France and into Belgium. Then they headed west into The Netherlands and crossed into Germany near Aachen. He was killed in action in Euchen, north of Aachen on 20 November 1944. The American Legion Post in La Conner was named the N. Kenneth Nelson Post in his honor. Uncle Kenneth’s grave is in the U.S. Military Cemetery in Margraten, Holland. Margraten is a short drive from Aachen. Besides writing home, he wrote several letters to the Puget Sound Mail in La Conner, mostly describing what life was like in a foxhole. His letters were a combination of humor and a request to keep supporting the troops. One of the stories he told was when they first crossed into Germany, the Germans greeted them by waving their new national flag – it had a white Swastika on a white background!

More information

Pfc Nels K. Nelson enlisted at Fort Lewis, Washington on 3 December 1943.