Henry Harry Nelsen was born March 10, 1920 in Glencoe, MN, the son of Henry and Emma (Karg) Nelsen, the second oldest of 13 brothers and sisters. He enlisted in the Minnesota National Guard in November of 1940. He trained at Camp Claiborne, LA, Ft. Dix, NJ, and Ft. Barrancas, FL. He went overseas in January of 1942 to Northern Ireland and invaded North Africa that year. He transferred to B Company, 133rd Infantry, 34th Division (Red Bull) following the North Africa invasion. In 1943 he was deployed to Italy during the European Theater Invasion at Salerno, Sicily. He attained the rank of Sergeant and was a squad leader. He returned to the Middle East. He then rotated back to the United States after two and a half years overseas. Henry was seriously wounded in battle. He received numerous medals including the Combat Infantry Badge, Purple Heart, Bronze Star, two Major Battle Stars and others. In 1945 Henry married Alvina Gorr and they settled in Appleton where he resided the majority of his life until moving to Montevideo in 2014. Henry worked as a Conservation Officer for the State of Minnesota for 39 years and served as a Deputy U. S. Warden. He was honored as Officer of the Year in 1978 and Man in the Field in 1980. He retired in 1983 and received recognition as the longest serving Game Warden in the state of Minnesota. In retirement he enjoyed fishing and collecting. Until moving into town in 2004 he enjoyed tending a large vegetable garden and working with scrap metal. Henry served on the Appleton Township Board, as past VFW Commander, and past DAV Commander. He belonged to the AMVETS, Purple Hearts, Senior Citizens Center, Cooties, a 62 year member of the American Legion, and Let's Go Fishing. He was a lifetime member of the Appleton and Holloway Sportsman's Clubs. Henry remained active in the VFW and the DAV. In 2006 he and Alvina were honored as Appleton's Grand Marshalls for the Applefest celebration. Henry died on Friday morning, August 1, 2014, at the Chippewa County-Montevideo Hospital. He had attained 94 years, 4 months, and 21 days of age. He is survived by his wife, Alvina, of Montevideo; three children: Bruce (Lori) Nelsen of Ortonville, Carolyn (David) Feldhake of Montevideo, and Keith Nelsen of Clearwater, FL; eight grandchildren; seven great-grandchildren and two expected; two brothers, three sisters, many nieces, nephews, three sisters-in-law, two brothers-in-law, and many other relatives. He is preceded in death by his parents; his son, Henry D. Nelsen, in 1949; three brothers; four sisters; mother-in-law and father-in-law, Christian and Kathryn Gorr; three sisters-in-law, and six brothers-in-law.
