Otto Lauren Nelson Jr. (November 2, 1902 – June 25, 1985) was an officer in the

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Biography

Otto L. Nelson was born in

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2, 1902, the child of Swedish immigrants. He graduated from the

United States Military Academy The United States Military Academy (USMA), commonly known as West Point, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York that educates cadets for service as Officer_(armed_forces)#United_States, comm ...

at West Point in 1924 and was commissioned in the Infantry branch. In 1932 he took a Master of Arts from

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

. He graduated from the

Command and General Staff School The United States Army Command and General Staff College (CGSC or, obsolete, USACGSC) at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, is a graduate school for United States Army and sister service officers, interagency representatives, and international military ...

in 1938 and took a Ph.D. degree from

Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher lear ...

in 1939. He was a history and economics instructor at West Point from 1929 to 1935, and from 1938 to 1941. Nelson was a member of the Army General Staff during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. He participated in the reorganizations of the Army command structure at the beginning of World War II and at the end of the war. Nelson documented those reorganizations and the history of the Army General Staff in ''National Security and the General Staff'' (Washington, DC: Infantry Journal Press, 1946). Nelson served as a major general from November 13, 1944 to May 31, 1946. Following his army service, Nelson was an executive with

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. In later life, he resided in

Alexandria, Virginia Alexandria is an independent city (United States), independent city in Northern Virginia, United States. It lies on the western bank of the Potomac River approximately south of Washington, D.C., D.C. The city's population of 159,467 at the 2020 ...

. He died in

New Rochelle, New York New Rochelle ( ; in ) is a Political subdivisions of New York State#City, city in Westchester County, New York, Westchester County, New York (state), New York, United States. It is a suburb of New York City, located approximately from Midtow ...

on June 25, 1985, where he had been competing in a golf tournament. He was buried at

Arlington National Cemetery Arlington National Cemetery is the largest cemetery in the United States National Cemetery System, one of two maintained by the United States Army. More than 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington County, Virginia. ...

References

1902 births 1985 deaths United States Army generals of World War II United States Army generals Burials at Arlington National Cemetery United States Military Academy alumni United States Military Academy faculty Columbia University alumni Harvard University alumni New York Life Insurance Company {{US-army-bio-stub