A LEGISLATIVE COMMEMORATION, Posthumously honoring South Dakota Highway Patrol Trooper Douglas Leigh Nelson, Sr. (HP 110) for his thirty-five and one half years dedicated service to South Dakotans as a highway patrolman and a veteran of the U.S. Army.

    WHEREAS, Doug Nelson, Sr. volunteered out of Lake Andes High School to serve in the U.S. Army, where he served overseas for several years in the Berlin Brigade as an infantry soldier during the height of the Cold War in Europe in the late 50s and early 60s; and

    WHEREAS, Trooper Doug Nelson, Sr. served South Dakotans for over thirty-two and one-half years as a highway patrolman in the Salem, Sioux Falls, and Mitchell communities, a feat of service that stands as a record within the South Dakota Highway Patrol to this day; and

    WHEREAS, Trooper Nelson, with the generous support of his wife, Marlys J. Nelson, served South Dakotans with selfless dedication to their safety; and

    WHEREAS, the actions, performance, and tenure of Trooper Nelson were in keeping with the highest traditions of the South Dakota Highway Patrol:

    NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT COMMEMORATED, by the Eighty-seventh Legislature of the State of South Dakota, that the Legislature posthumously honors South Dakota Highway Patrol Trooper Douglas Leigh Nelson, Sr. for his outstanding lifetime commitment and service to the citizens of South Dakota. "HP 110 is 10-42." Requiescat in pace.