#VeteranOfTheDay Army Veteran Stanley Nelson

Today’s #VeteranOfTheDay is Army Veteran Stanley Nelson. Stanley served from 1949 to 1952.

Stanley, from Otwell, Indiana in Pike County, joined the Army in 1949 and completed training at Fort Knox. He was sent to Japan and in 1950 was assigned to the 8^th Engineer Combat Battalion, 1^st Calvary in Korea during the Korean War. On February 14, 1951, Stanley was defending the flank of advancing soldiers near Chipyong in modern-day South Korea. He was wounded by small arms fire in the right shoulder, right foot, left leg and left foot. Stanley was left incapacitated and was captured by the enemy.

Stanley endured torture and difficult conditions while held prisoner and was left to die. However, American forces discovered him and evacuated him for medical treatment. The lower part of Stanley’s leg was amputated the following month and he recovered at Percy James Army Hospital in Battle Creek, Michigan. He was medically retired on January 31, 1952.

Thank you for your service, Stanley!

Nominate a Veteran for #VeteranOfTheDay

Do you want to light up the face of a special Veteran? Have you been wondering how to tell your Veteran they are special to you? You’re in luck! VA’s #VeteranOfTheDay social media feature is an opportunity to highlight your Veteran and his/her service.

It’s easy to nominate a Veteran. All it takes is an email to newmedia@va.gov with as much information as you can put together, along with some good photos. Visit our blog post about nominating to learn how to create the best submission.

Veterans History Project

This #VeteranOfTheDay profile was created with interviews submitted to the Veterans History Project. The project collects, preserves, and makes accessible the personal accounts of American war Veterans so that future generations may hear directly from Veterans and better understand the realities of war. Find out more at http://www.loc.gov/vets/.

Graphic created by Dominique Ramirez: Dominique is a member of VA’s Digital Media Engagement team. He manages multiple pages across the VA.gov domain, including the VAntage Point blog. He also creates graphics for VA’s social media channels.