Nels Wold

He silenced four machine guns and rescued a captured comrade

Nels T. Wold was born in December 1895 at Winger, Minnesota, to Norwegian immigrant parents. One of ten children, he worked before entering the United States Army at Crookston, Minnesota, on 2 April 1918. His recorded residence was Minnewaukan, North Dakota. He trained at Camp Dodge, Iowa, initially with the 163rd Depot Brigade, before joining Company I, 138th Infantry Regiment, 35th Division on 21 April.

Wold went overseas on 3 May 1918. The official North Dakota service roster records his participation in the Gerardmer and Grange-le-Comte defensive sectors and the Meuse-Argonne offensive. His short Army service carried him from training in the American Midwest to the final Allied offensive in France.

On 26 September 1918 near Cheppy, German machine-gun positions stopped his company's advance. Wold volunteered to attack the positions, helping silence four guns and bringing back eleven prisoners. Later that day he rescued a comrade who was about to be shot by a German officer. He was killed while attacking a fifth machine-gun position. His initiative helped his company move forward.

Wold received the Medal of Honor posthumously. General Leonard Wood presented the award to his siblings on 31 December 1919. There was no later military or civilian career: Wold had died less than six months after his induction. His remains were returned from France and buried near his parents in Minnesota on the third anniversary of his death.

Medal of Honor citation

He rendered most gallant service in aiding the advance of his company, which had been held up by machine-gun nests, advancing, with one other soldier, and silencing the guns; bringing with him, upon his return, 11 prisoners. Later the same day he jumped from a trench and rescued a comrade who was about to be shot by a German officer, killing the officer during the exploit. His actions were entirely voluntary, and it was while attempting to rush a fifth machine-gun nest that he was killed. The advance of his company was mainly due to his great courage and devotion to duty.