William Atlee Nelson, 19, was declared missing in action in France in December of 1944. After several months, the war department declared him killed in action. The dates are unclear, but William is said to have died during the Battle of the Bulge, Adolf Hitler’s “last major offensive in World War II against the Western Front”. William was my 7th cousin.

This is a project about the feelings, history, objects, people, presence, contradictions, and invisibility of the Swedish-American in present day United States. The blog contains raw material and notes I prepare as I work towards larger presentations. The blogposts are disconnected from each other and can be read in any order.

The ‘about this project‘ section provides more background on the project.