The summer marks the 75th anniversary of the end of the Second World War.
Today marks the 78th anniversary of the capture of Wittenberger Havelock D. Nelson.
Havelock D. Nelson was born in Canton in 1898, and his family moved to Springfield. He attended Wittenberg College and the University of Cincinnati. He enlisted in the Marines in 1917 and went to the war in France, returning in 1919. He worked as a clerk in Ohio, married Kathleen B. Jones, and they had two daughters, Leslie and Kate. He continued military service in the National Guard, and when America entered the Second World War in 1941, he re-enlisted in the army.
In 1942, Major Havelock D. Nelson commanded the 192nd Tank Battalion on Bataan, where he was captured on April 9th. He survived the Bataan Death March and was imprisoned at Camp O’Donnell. At the camp, he was among 30 American and Japanese men found with Japanese money on them, which their captors accused them of stealing from dead Japanese soldiers, a charge they denied.
The next morning the men were lined up for execution along an open ditch. One officer exclaimed “My God, they can’t do this horrible thing,” and then “Men, die like Americans.” All were shot.
But two men did not die. Hours later, Nelson regained consciousness, finding himself wounded and buried under the bodies of dead men. He and a Filipino survivor helped one another escape into the jungle, where they separated. After two days Nelson was found in the mountains by a Filipino guerilla who tried to take care of him. But without proper medical attention, Major Havelock died in the arms of the other man.
Of all this, his wife Kathleen knew nothing until November 1945, when Nelson’s commanding officer wrote to her with the story.
Havelock and Kathleen’s descendants included twelve grandchildren, one of whom, Air Force Captain Andy Taylor, served in the Vietnam War and subsequently joined the American Legion Post 681 that had been renamed for his grandfather. In a ceremony in 2007, the major’s great-grandson, Zen Taylor, read a poem penned by his mom, on soldiers and their families.
Major Havelock Nelson was awarded the Silver Star for “conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in connection with military operations against the enemy.”
About The Project
With Wittenberg now celebrating its 175th year, and the University unable to hold regular in-person classes as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, Professor of History Thomas T. Taylor has started circulating several pieces on Wittenberg's history. Some originated in earlier series, either This Month in Wittenberg History or Happy Birthday Wittenberg. Others have their origin in the Wittenberg History Project or in some other, miscellaneous project. Sincerest thanks to Professor Taylor for connecting alumni, faculty, staff, and students through a historic lens.