Luther Nelson Collection, 1916-1919
| Archives of the American Field Service and AFS Intercultural Programs




Luther Nelson was a native of Lanesboro, Minnesota, and the son of Minnesota State Senator S. A. Nelson. After graduating from St. Olaf College in June 1916 at the age of 22, Nelson applied for a volunteer position with the American Red Cross (ARC) in Europe to help the Allied cause during the First World War. However, because the American Red Cross had withdrawn all of its personnel from Europe by May 1916, Nelson joined the American Ambulance Hospital in June 1916 as an ambulance driver with what was known as the “Paris Section.” Nelson initially signed up for a short three-month stint with the American Ambulance Hospital at Neuilly-sur-Seine, where he evacuated wounded soldiers from the Station La Chappelle to the various military hospitals in and around Paris. Nelson, however, wanted to work more actively in the field—and particularly in Verdun—and decided to enlist for a six-month term as an ambulance driver with the Norton-Harjes Ambulance Corps, Section Sanitaire Americaine No. 5 (SSU 5) on September 1, 1916.
The Harjes Formation, established in October 1914 by H. Herman Harjes, the senior partner of the Morgan-Harjes Bank (the Paris branch of J. P. Morgan), was the first volunteer ambulance corps to serve on the Western front in France. In June of 1915, Harjes succeeded in gaining the sponsorship of the financially-strapped American Red Cross, which supported this formation only nominally. In 1916, Harjes combined his efforts with Richard Norton’s Anglo-American Volunteer Motor-Ambulance Corps (based in London) under the auspices of the American Red Cross, and the units subsequently became known as the Norton-Harjes Ambulance Corps, or Red Cross Sections. The American volunteers in these sections were governed by French military directives and command chains, and each American section was commanded by a French officer, who functioned primarily as a liaison between the French Army and the Americans.
Luther Nelson joined Norton-Harjes Section No. 5 to also take advantage of the better living conditions as compared to the American Ambulance Hospital, and because he hoped that his service would lead to a position with the Morgan-Harjes Bank of Paris after the war. During his time with Norton-Harjes, his ambulance section saw some of the war’s most severe fighting in Verdun.
Luther Nelson returned his home in Minneapolis, Minnesota in September 1917, after the United States entered the war and the Norton-Harjes Ambulance Corps was absorbed by the U.S. military. Due to his nine months with Norton-Harjes, Nelson was not subject to the Selective Service Act of 1917, and consequently was not required to serve in the U.S. Army in France.



The Luther Nelson Collection consists of correspondence, newspapers (including clippings), a diary, a lithographic print, ephemera, a passport, and photographs relating to Nelson’s service with the American Red Cross, American Ambulance Hospital at Neuilly-sur-Seine, and Section Saitaire Americaine No. 5 (SSU 5) of the Norton-Harjes Ambulance Corps.
The correspondence spans the years 1916-1917 and documents Nelson’s service in the war, including his brief time spent with the American Red Cross and his time spent driving an ambulance at the Verdun front. Correspondents include family members (including his father, sister Selma, and brother Julius), the American Red Cross, and U.S. Senator Knute Nelson of Minnesota, who wrote a letter of recommendation concerning Nelson’s qualifications to serve with the American Ambulance Hospital in Paris.
The clippings span the years 1916-1917, represent national publications (such as the New York Times) and local Minnesota periodicals (such as the Northfield News and the Murray County Herald), and consist of articles about Nelson, including published versions of selected correspondence from Nelson to his family about Verdun.
Nelson’s unbound diary dates from September 1, 1916 to February 28, 1917, and provides his personal account of the Verdun front and his service as an ambulance driver with the Norton-Harjes Ambulance Corps.
Other material includes a lithographic print (entitled “A Day in the American Ambulance”), a postcard, train ticket, an AFS “General Orders” broadside (all from 1916), a printed tribute to Richard Norton (August 4, 1918), and approximately 263 small photographic prints and two sleeved negatives that document Nelson’s service in SSU 5 of the Norton-Harjes Ambulance Corps (1916-1917). The photographs depict landscapes, trenches, aerial views, SSU 5 ambulance drivers attending to the wounded, SSU 5 members posed in front of their ambulances, German prisoners of war, and the war-torn areas surrounding the Verdun front.

Documents and Files:
Letter 1, Robert U. Patterson to Luther Nelson
Letter 2, Knute Nelson to Luther Nelson
Letter 3, [Illegible] to Knute Nelson
Letter 4, Knute Nelson to Luther Nelson
Letter 5, Luther Nelson to Brother Julius
Letter 6, Luther Nelson to Brother Julius, Mary, and Ozmond
Letter 7, Luther Nelson to Sister Selma
Letter 8, Luther Nelson to Brother Julius
Letter 9, Luther Nelson to Sister Selma
Letter 10, Luther Nelson to Julius and folks
Letter 11, Luther Nelson to Louis
Letter 12, Luther Nelson to Dad and Folks
Letter 13, Luther Nelson to Brother Julius
Letter 14, Luther Nelson to Sister Selma
Letter 15, Luther Nelson to Dad
Letter 16, Luther Nelson to Brother Julius
Letter 17, Luther Nelson to Sister Selma
Letter 18, Luther Nelson to Mary, Ossie, and Julius
Letter 19, Luther Nelson to Sister Selma & Folks
Letter 20, Luther Nelson to Brother Julius, Mary & Osmond
Letter 21, Luther Nelson to Brother Julius
Letter 22, Luther Nelson to Brother Julius
Letter 23, Unknown to Luther Nelson
Letter 24, Luther Nelson to Sister Selma
Folder 1: Correspondence, May-December 1916
Folder 2: Correspondence, January-May 1917
Folder 3: Diary, September 1, 1916-February 28, 1917
Folder 4: Empty Envelope, 1919
Folder 5: Ephemera- General Orders, circa 1916
Folder 6: Ephemera- Richard Norton Tribute, August 4, 1918
Folder 7: Lithographic Print- "A Day in the American Ambulance", circa 1916
Folder 8: Little Souvenirs of France, 1918
Folder 9: Newspapers, 1916-1918
Folder 10: Newspapers (Clippings), 1916-1917
Folder 11: Ordre de Movement, December 18, 1916
Folder 12: Passport, 1916
Folder 13: Photographs and Negatives, 1916-1917