Chubu Army District Headquarters
Osaka

source: Rich Cookson
Mission to Albuquerque

500th Bomb Group ( Very Heavy )

AIRCRAFT COMMANDER

SERIAL NUMBER

NICKNAME

FITZGERALD

42-24849

MISSION TO ALBUQUERQUE

source: Kansas State College of Agricultural and Applied Science
1942 Royal Purple Yearbook
Tanzey Cutter

Suggested Reading

Some of the Case History 328 documents are used
within these pages.
The complete documents are at

Case History 328

Tributes to 1st Lt Robert Watson Nelson
can be found at

500th Bomb Group Virtual Cemetery

Honor States
( Middle name is not correct )

source: POW Research Network Japan

Robert Watson Nelson was born 19 October 1922 in Minneapolis, Kansas.
He attended Minneapolis High School, graduating in the Class of 1940.

He continued his studies at Kansas State College of Agricultural and Applied Sciences.

While there he enrolled in the ROTC and was majoring in Mechanical Engineering.

The Yearbook section has photos of him at both institutions of learning.
Also in there is the young freshman who would become his wife.

Information concerning Betty Eileen Musgrave,
obtained from the Social Security Adminstration at Ancestry, is below.

Lt Nelson's Registration card is dated 30 June 1942 and
his date of enlistment into the USAAF was 7 August 1943.
In there is a deferment date until January 1944.

His marital status is single,indicating that
his marriage to Betty took place in late 1943 or in 1944 .

There are no records in his Individual Deceased Personnel File ( IDPF )
listing his stations following induction.

His position within the Fitzgerald crew was navigator
and he would have attended one of the Navigation schools.

Lt Nelson arrived at Walker Army Air Field, Victoria, Kansas, sometime during April 1944.
By the end of May 1944 he had been assigned to the Major Robert J Fitzgerald Crew.

Within the Fitzgerald Crew page is more information concerning his journey to Saipan.

Nine men of the crew died during the night of 16-17 March 1945
while flying 73rd Bomb Wing Mission #32, Target Kobe
Z-8 was rammed by an enemy aircraft.

These pages for 1st Lt Robert W Nelson cover
several aspects of his loss, including his capture and execution.

I am thankful to the following for providing material to
help me put together these pages to honor Lt Nelson.

Roy Wall
Jim Bowman
Ed Lawson
Scott Muselin
John Lehnen

Rich Cookson
David Caprara
Tanzey Cutter

Air Force Historical Research Agency
St Louis National Archives

POW Research Network Japan

Phillips University Marburg

REGISTRATION CARD
FRONT
30 JUNE 1942

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REGISTRATION CARD
BACK
30 JUNE 1942

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ENLISTMENT RECORD
PAGE 1

source: National Archives

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ENLISTMENT RECORD
PAGE 2

 

source: National Archives

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ENLISTMENT RECORD
KANSAS STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY

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INFORMATION ON
BETTY EILEEN MUSGRAVE NELSON FABER
OBTAINED AT
Ancestry. com

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