by Sean Malcom
Recently, I had the honor of spending two afternoons with Richard Nelson, a local United States Marine Corps veteran who celebrated his 100th birthday last month. Nelson is one of the original “Old Breed” having served with the First Marine Division from 1943 until 1945 in the Pacific theater during World War II.
The opportunity to spend time with Nelson came to me as a rare privilege, as I too served with the division, albeit 65 years after Nelson had.
At 100 years old, Nelson’s recollection of his time during the battles at Cape Gloucester, Peleliu and Okinawa has faded. The many awards and citations which have been framed and hung around his living room, along with the shadow box which encases his medals, rank and unit patches, help to provide a glimpse into Nelson’s past.
The one thing that stood out to me, as well as what seemed to be most important to him, was a large hardcover book simply titled “The Old Breed.” Published in 1949, the book, with an olive drab cover adorned with the First Marine Division symbol, contains a complete history of the division’s actions during World War II. It comes complete with photographs, sketches, award citations and a highly detailed timeline of the division’s actions, week by week. “That book helps,” Nelson said, tapping the side of his head. “It helps to fill in the gaps.”
Born in 1923, Nelson grew up in Chicago, Illinois at the height of The Great Depression. His father passed away when Nelson was two years old, leaving his mother to raise him and his seven siblings.
“With two beds and eight kids, I slept on the floor a lot,” Nelson said. “You were always hungry. You woke up hungry. You went to bed hungry back then.” He recalls selling newspapers for ten cents outside of apartment buildings, working at a tobacco shop and receiving donated food just to get by.
At 19, just over a year after the attack on Pearl Harbor, Nelson enlisted in the United States Marine Corps. “Originally, I wanted to join up with the Air Force,” he laughed. “But they weren’t taking anybody.”
Nelson arrived in San Diego, California for boot camp a few weeks later. This was followed by advanced training at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California, before sailing to Melbourne, Australia in December, 1943 to join up with the rest of the First Marine Division. The division had recently finished fighting on the island of Guadalcanal earlier that year. “All those guys were older than me,” Nelson said, referring to the Marines that had fought on the island of Guadalcanal. “I was young. I was only 19. But we were good buddies. They took me right in.”
Nelson was assigned to 3rd Battalion 11th Marine Regiment, an artillery unit within the division whose role was to provide fire support for the entire division. Nelson was assigned as a forward observer, which entailed using a radio to direct artillery fire onto targets from the front line. His first combat experience was on the island of Cape Gloucester, three weeks after joining the rest of the division in Australia.
“I’d find the enemy, do the math, then tell the guns where to shoot,” he said. “It was easy for me, then they made me a Corporal, then I got to tell everybody else what to do.” From a young age, Nelson had a gift for math. At just 20 years old, he was promoted to Corporal and charged with leading other Marines in combat.
Nelson and the First Marine Division took part in The Battle of Cape Gloucester on the island of New Britain, New Guinea from December, 1943 until January, 1944. It rained continuously for 26 days. Nelson recalled, after seeing a photograph in the book of a jeep stuck in a rutted out muddy road, “the rain just never let up.”
A United States Navy Unit Citation hangs on the wall next to Nelson’s fireplace, summarizing his unit’s actions on Cape Gloucester. It states: “Tortured by tropical insects, torrential rain and never-ending sniper fire, …officers and men worked as an indomitable team under raking enemy fire, fighting their way over twisted, covered trails to provide heavy-weapons fire for the assault infantry troops.”
Following a brief occupation of New Britain, Nelson returned to Australia before re-boarding a United States Navy ship en route to the island of Peleliu. “Peleliu was the worst one,” he said. The National Museum of the Marine Corps called The Battle of Peleliu, “the bitterest battle of the war for the Marines.” The history of the battle is deeply engrained in First Marine Division lore, to this day. In a little over two months, 1,300 Marines of the division were killed, as well as over 5,000 wounded.
The enemy was only part of the problem, though, as Nelson noted. “We were always looking for water,” he said. “It was hot all the time. You couldn’t drink it fast enough.” The Marines were faced with supply line issues during the battle, as well as blistering summer heat. On many occasions, water sources were poisoned by retreating Japanese forces.
Nelson suffered through bouts of malaria, as well a jungle rot on his hands and feet.
“I saw more dead people as a kid than anybody should have to,” Nelson said, pointing toward the names of the Marines killed in action that fill the last 20 pages of the book.
After two months of fighting, The Battle of Peleliu ended in November 1944. Nelson returned to Australia once again before sailing to Okinawa, Japan. The Battle of Okinawa was the last major ground operation of World War II. The battle inflicted 50,000 U.S. casualties and roughly 110,000 Japanese and Okinawan dead. It was the last combat Nelson saw before returning to the United States in 1945.
Nelson returned to the Chicago area after the war and went to work with the Illinois Bell phone company installing switchboards. Soon after, he met his wife of 69 years, Audrey. They settled in Elgin, Illinois and raised four children.
Nelson retired from Illinois Bell in 1986 and moved to a cabin south of Stevensville, where he lives today. Nelson’s wife Audrey has since passed. Most of his days are now spent with his children, sitting in a recliner in front of a recently converted gas fireplace. His advanced age makes it difficult for him to split wood and load the old stove, which he had done until a few years ago.
I asked Nelson what he thought the most important thing in life was. “Honesty,” he was quick to respond, “A lot of people are full of bologna. You have to try your best to be honest as much as you can.” As I finished looking through the book and the medals that filled Nelson’s shadow box, I asked him what he was most proud of regarding all of it. He looked up toward the kitchen, where his two sons were having coffee, and said, “Just being able to have such a nice family.”