Hudson Nelson was born on June 20, 1922, in Lorena, Mississippi. He enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Forces on June 5, 1942, and after completing basic training he was trained as an aerial gunner. Sgt Nelson then completed B-17 Flying Fortress Combat Crew Training with the 593rd Bomb Squadron of the 396th Bomb Group at Drew Field, Florida, before deploying to England with the 423rd Bomb Squadron of the 306th Bomb Group from May to October 1944, during which time he flew on 29 combat missions and shot down 3 enemy aircraft as a ball turret gunner on B-17F bombers. After returning to the United States, he was assigned as a gunnery instructor at Laredo Army Air Field, Texas, from November 1944 until his honorable discharge from the Army Air Forces on October 13, 1945. After leaving the military he attended the University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, and then worked for South Central Bell Telephone Company for 30 years before retiring to Long Beach, Mississippi. Hudson Nelson died on July 7, 1995, and was buried at Gulf Pines Memorial Gardens in Long Beach, Mississippi.

His Distinguished Flying Cross Citation reads:

Winton H. Nelson, 14095478, Staff Sergeant, 423rd Bombardment Squadron, 306th Bombardment Group (H), Army Air Forces, United States Army. For extraordinary achievement while serving as Ball Turret Gunner of a B-17 airplane on a number of combat bombardment missions over Germany and German occupied countries from 25 May 1944 to 8 August 1944.