World War II casualty Nelson died 80 years ago this week

Published 11:00 am Saturday, March 22, 2025

When John Logan Nelson tried to enlist in the U.S. Army during World War II, he failed the physical. However, Nelson didn’t give up and was finally accepted into military service, according to a family member.

A nephew, Lee Dillard of Chatsworth, said Nelson was the brother of his mother, Bernice Nelson Dillard, who spoke often of the unusual measure her brother took to be inducted.

“He signed up for the Army but failed his physical because of a hernia or something that needed surgery, so he came back home and went to work and saved his money to pay for that surgery,” said Dillard. “After that, they took him. He went over there and wasn’t there no time before he got killed in March.”

“John L Nelson was serving his country during World War II when he gave his all in the line of duty,” the Honor States website (honorstates.org) says. “He had enlisted in the United States Army … During his service in World War II, Army Private Nelson experienced a traumatic event which ultimately resulted in loss of life. Recorded circumstances attributed to KIA – Killed in Action.”

Nelson’s memorial marker in Ellijay City Cemetery notes his death date as March 17, 1945, 80 years ago this week. Having been born on Sept. 11, 1924, he was 20 when he died.

Nelson was inducted into the infantry on June 29, 1944, according to the Find A Grave website, and trained at Camp Wheeler in Georgia and Fort Meade in Maryland. He embarked for the European Theater on Dec. 7, 1944, three years to the day after the attack on Pearl Harbor, and was engaged in combat at Belgium and Germany while deployed with the 393rd Infantry Regiment of the 99th Infantry Division. He was killed in Remagen, Germany.

Lee Dillard, a Marine Corps veteran who said his father, Frank Dillard, fought as a Marine in World War II at Iwo Jima, Saipan and other islands in the Pacific Campaign, was asked how he felt about the uncle he never knew and his ultimate sacrifice.

“My mother said he was really patriotic and just wanted to serve so much,” he said. “Very few would do that today, I guess, to fail the physical and then have surgery to pass it to get into the Army during a war.”

John L. Nelson is mentioned on the Honor Roll of the 99th Infantry Division (99thinfantrydivision.com/honor-roll/). He was awarded the World War II Victory Medal, a Purple Heart, American Campaign Medal, Army Presidential Unit Citation and Army Good Conduct Award. His son, John Nelson, still resides in Ellijay.