Patrick Henry Nelson III (March 11, 1910 – June 28, 1964) was an American politician, U.S. Marine veteran of World War II, and attorney from Columbia, South Carolina.

In 1941 Nelson joined the United States Marine Corps after the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor and the United States entered the Second World War.

He served in The Fighting Bengals (Marine All Weather Fighter Attack Squadron 224) throughout the war and fought across the Pacific (including the Guadalcanal Campaign, the Gilbert and Marshall Islands campaign, Funafuti, Ellice Islands, and other battles and engagements).

Nelson was also elected as president of the Richland County Bar Association.

Nelson is the great-grandson of Patrick Henry Nelson, Confederate States Army officer and militia general from South Carolina during the American Civil War.