Staff Sergeant Wendell D. Holder was born in Barren County, Kentucky, on 21 June 1920. He enlisted at Bowling Green, Warren County, on 16 January 1941 with Headquarters Company, 75th Infantry Brigade, and entered federal service the next day.

During his active duty, Holder was transferred to the Alamo Scouts, the 6th Army's Special Reconnaissance Unit. On 9 October 1944, First Lieutenant Eugene Kersting of Dayton, Ohio, and Staff Sergeant Holder of Bowling Green drowned in a training accident when their rubber boat capsized at Tami Beach, Dutch New Guinea.