Major General
Nelson M. Lynde Jr.

Major General Nelson M. Lynde, Jr. was born in Missouri on August 5, 1905 and graduated from the United States Military Academy in 1929.

In his 33 years of service, he was recognized as the expert for establishing Army doctrine and field operating procedures for tank automotive maintenance. He served his first eight years in the infantry and, immediately upon graduation from the Infantry Tank School, was detailed into the Ordnance Corps and assigned to the mechanized cavalry at Fort Knox, Kentucky.

Continuing his association with armor by alternate assignments to ordnance and to armored units, General Lynde served throughout World War II in Europe with the Seventh, First, and Fifteenth U.S. Armies. For these services, he received the Legion of Merit and the Bronze Star Medal, both with Oak Leaf Cluster.

Following the war, General Lynde was transferred to the Ordnance Corps and again was stationed at Fort Knox, Kentucky. In 1953, he was transferred to the Far East where he served as Commanding Officer of the 226th Ordnance Base Depot, Japan.

Returning to the United States in 1955, he assumed command of the Ordnance Tank-Automotive Command in Detroit, Michigan, where he was responsible for the development and production engineering of armored equipment. General Lynde continued his achievements and high degree of leadership until his retirement in 1962 as Commanding General of the Ordnance Weapons Command, Rock Island Arsenal, Illinois. General Lynde died in Parkersburg, West Virginia on May 13, 1993.