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<em>Nelson Paul Monson</em> was born the son of Martin Paul and Karen Monson in Minden, NE. He attended grade school in Minden and was studying at the University of Nebraska when he received his Senatorial appointment to West Point. His parents were unsure of a military career, as his grandfather was a conscientious objector from Sweden, but acquiesced to their son’s desires in the end.</p>
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His academic scores placed him in the middle of his class, but his greatest accomplishment was kept a secret among him and a few friends; he secretly built fireworks, set them off in the company next door, and was back in his bunk when the explosions went off. (He admitted he learned something in chemistry after all.) His company commander had his suspicions but would never know for certain.</p>
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Paul returned to his farm-based roots while on graduation leave to marry his hometown sweetheart, Betty Brown. Their marriage, however, had an inauspicious beginning. During their honeymoon, they were involved in a traffic accident and Paul spent most of his leave on one floor of the Catholic hospital in Dallas, TX, and his wife on another. Although their marriage was off to a shaky start, it would last more than 50 years, until Betty’s death in 1994. They had three children: William, Judith, and Deborah.</p>
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Although Paul could fly, he had difficulty with certain politics, and after a very short stint at Randolph Field, he was assigned to the Tank Destroyer School. Fortunately, that meant he remained in the Infantry, which was his first branch choice. Determined to fly one way or another, he volunteered for the parachute infantry. After jump school, he was assigned to the 507th Parachute Infantry and jumped into Normandy on 6 Jun 1944.</p>
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Although he was only in Europe for a short period, he earned the Silver Star and the <em>Croixde Guerre.</em> The Germans captured Paul in Belgium and took him to Offlag 64 in Poland, where he escaped in 1945. The Russians picked him up byway of the Ukraine and repatriated him to U.S. jurisdiction in Naples.</p>
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Assigned to the 511th Parachute Infantry in Japan in 1946, he served as a company commander, battalion executive officer, Regimental S-2, and Regimental S-3. When the regiment returned to Ft. Campbell, Paul was assigned to the Armor Advanced Course.</p>
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When he was promoted to major, he was assigned to the Turkish Reserve Officers School in Ankara. Once stateside, he was the commanding officer of the 3rd, Bn 188th Parachute Infantry and then served with the S-3 section of III Corps. In 1954, he was assigned as a regimental advisor to a Vietnamese Infantry Division then, in 1962, attended the Air-Ground School and remained there for nearly six years.</p>
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After retiring in 1962, Paul moved his family to Tucson, AZ, to earn his teaching credentials before moving to Glendora, CA, where he taught mathematics in the Glendora School District for the next 13 years.</p>
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During Paul’s years in Glendora teaching, he also earned his master’s in education from the University of Redlands. Upon retiring a second time, he and Betty first moved to Arkadelphia, AR, and then to Houston, TX, to be close to Deborah and her children. After the death of Betty, he moved to Ft. Collins, CO, to be with his daughter, Judy, and his two great-grandchildren.</p>
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Paul Monson was a loving, honest, intelligent man who will be missed by all of his friends and family.</p>
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<em>LTC Roy R. Stephenson</em></p>