31Oct1923 – 18Jul1944
Edison Days
Note: Roger’s surname appears as both Nielsen, and Nielson in the Wizard yearbook. It is believed to be a typo, not different people.
Roger graduated with the June Class of 1941. He was involved with Hi-Y.
Military Service
Rank: 1st Lieutenant
Branch: United States Army Air Corps
Unit: 313th Fighter Squadron – 50th Fighter Group – 9th Air Force
Roger enlisted in the Army on 30Dec1941. Little information has been found about his early years in the Army.
In July 1943 Roger was based at Orlando Army Air Base in Orlando, FL. That is also the month that he married his Edison classmate, Bonnie Jean Van Steenwyk.
Roger’s unit moved to AAF Station 551 (RAF Station Lymington) in Hampshire, England in March and April of 1944. The squadron flew its first mission on 1May1944 and spent the month of May escorting bombers and attacking ground targets in preparation for D-Day.
The 313th was active over the D-Day landing beaches on 6-7 June and continued to attack German targets around the invasion area.
On 18Jun1944 Roger’s unit was engaged in armed reconnaissance mission in the vicinity of Cherbourg, France. This would be his final mission.
This is a witness statement included in a Missing Air Crew Report.
“On 18 June 1944 we were on an armed reconnaissance over the south Cherbourgh area as yellow flight. We had been out about an hour when Lt. Nielsen who was flying number 2 position sighted a vehicle on the road. We were flying at about 1,000 feet and not seeing the truck I told him to lead and I would follow him. He circled back to look for the vehicle and reported some flak. I was 160 yards behind him but didn’t see any flak and asked him where it was. He did not replay and about 30 seconds after I asked him the plane nosed over in a 60 (degree) dive from 600 feet and went straight in, exploding upon hitting the ground. The plane burnt for about 5 minutes and when I went down to look at it, there was nothing left. We later found the flak positions, small flak, and from my own experience I can say they were very accurate and it is very possible that Lt. Nielsen was hit on the first or second burst.”
Phillip N. Loring
Captain
Even though he was killed in the crash. He was originally reported as missing in action. One year after the crash he was declared dead.
As late as June 1946 Roger’s remains had not been recovered and he was classified as FOD in the World War 2 Honor List of Dead and Missing produced by the War Department.
FOD means Finding of Death and is FOD is used when there’s overwhelming evidence that the soldier could not have survived but their body is not recovered.
From 1945 to 1951 the American Graves Registration Service (AGRS), a branch of the U.S. Army, systematically searched battlefields, temporary cemeteries, and crash sites to locate and identify remains. The AGRS eventually recovered Roger’s remains and they were returned to Minnesota for reburial in 1949.
Roger is buried at Fort Snelling National Cemetery in Minneapolis, MN.
Edison Heroes 