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Franklin Nicholson in uniform [1944]

Veterans History Project Service Summary:

  • War or Conflict: World War, 1939-1945
  • Branch of Service: Army
  • Unit of Service: 96th Infantry Division
  • Location of Service: Pacific Theater; Okinawa Island (Ryukyu Islands)
  • Highest Rank: Major
  • Collection Number: AFC/2001/001/712

View full service history

"I was determined I wasn't going to end there." (Audio Interview, 24:18)

Serving on Okinawa, the last major battleground of World War II, Franklin Nicholson was wounded two days before the island was taken from the Japanese. Hit in the jaw by fragments of a mortar shell, he lost several teeth and fought not to choke on his own blood as he lay awaiting aid. The first army surgeon who treated him had worked on Nicholson during his training days for complications from dental surgery. And a chaplain whom he would later become close to in the States discovered a wound in his back that the medics had missed. Disfigured but determined, Nicholson forged a successful career and led a normal family life back home in Indiana.

Franklin Nicholson Collection
Interview / Recording

Transcript

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More Resources

View 2 images in sequence.
[ Photo Album ]
View 2 images in sequence.
[ Presidential Unit Citation awarded to the 96th Infantry Division ]
View 2 images in sequence.
[ Announcement of Nicholson's promotion to Major and discharge from the Armed Services ]
View 2 images in sequence.
[ Franklin Nicholson, Salem, Indiana ]
View Enlarged Image
[ Telegram informing parents of Nicholson's wounding on Okinawa [7/27/1945] ]
View Enlarged Image
[ Vmail to Mom and Dad [undated] ]

Show more resources (4)

View 2 images in sequence.
[ Letter to Mom and Dad [7/19/1945] ]
View Enlarged Image
[ Map showing where Nicholson was wounded on Okinawa on June 20, 1945 ]
View Enlarged Image
[ Memoir of her grandfather, Franklin Nicholson, by Lynette Jackson ]
View Enlarged Image
[ Photograph of Nicholson and a collage of newsclippings detailing his service ]

About this Item

Title

  • Franklin Nicholson Collection

Names

  • Lugar, Richard
  • U.S. Senate/Richard Lugar
  • Nicholson, Franklin
  • McClain, Patricia H.

Home State

  • Indiana

Headings

  • -  Nicholson, Franklin
  • -  World War, 1939-1945 -- Personal Narratives
  • -  United States. Army.

Repository

  • Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress

Gender

  • Male

Status

  • veteran

Service History

  • World War, 1939-1945

    • Branch of Service: Army
    • Unit of Service: 96th Infantry Division
    • Location of Service: Pacific Theater; Okinawa Island (Ryukyu Islands)
    • Highest Rank: Major
    • Dates of Service: 1941-1950
    • Military Status: veteran
    • Service History Note: The veteran was severely wounded on Okinawa Island (Ryukyu Islands), where a mortar shell tore away part of his jaw.

Materials

  • Manuscript: Transcript [1 item] -- Typewritten document (collected 2005)
  • Computer File: Floppy Disk [1 item] -- Electronic file of manuscript (collected 2003; 2003-08-11)
  • Audio: Audio Cassette [1 item] -- Reference copy (collected 2005; 2005)
  • Video: VHS [1 item] -- Reference copy (collected 2005; 2005)
  • Manuscript: Correspondence [3 items] -- Typewritten document (collected 2000-07-18)
  • Manuscript: Correspondence [1 item] -- (collected 1945-07-19)
  • Manuscript: Maps [1 item] -- (collected unknown)
  • Manuscript: Military papers (orders, personnel/201 files, etc) [1 item] -- (collected 1945)
  • Manuscript: Memoirs [2 items] -- (collected unknown)
  • Photograph: Original photographic print [1 item] -- Photograph (collected 2002)
  • Photograph: Copy photographic print [1 item] -- Photograph (collected 1945)
  • Audio: Audio Cassette [1 item] -- Oral history interview (collected 2002-03-22)
  • Video: VHS [1 item] -- Oral history interview (collected 2002-03)

Collection Number

  • AFC/2001/001/712

Cite as

  • Franklin Nicholson Collection (AFC/2001/001/712), Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress

Online Format

  • audio
  • image
  • online text

Additional Metadata Formats

IIIF Presentation Manifest

Wars & Conflicts

Service Branch

Location of Service

Service Unit

Highest Rank

Discharge Status

Gender

Home State

Interviewee

Interviewer

Organization/Affiliation

Rights & Access

Using VHP Material in Publication or Exhibition

The Veterans History Project (VHP) at the Library of Congress collects, preserves and makes accessible the firsthand recollections of U.S. military veterans who served from World War I through more recent conflicts and peacekeeping missions, so that future generations may hear directly from veterans and better understand what they saw, did and felt during their service. The Veterans History Project Collection includes oral histories along with documentary materials such as original letters, diaries, photographs, and memoirs.

Veterans and interviewers contribute these materials to the Library for scholarly and educational purposes, retaining any copyright they may hold. Therefore, permission must be obtained before using the interview or other materials in exhibition or publication. Researchers or others who would like to make further use of these materials should contact the Veterans History Project for assistance.

As a publicly supported institution, the Library generally does not own rights to material in its collections. Therefore, it does not charge permission fees for use of such material and cannot give or deny permission to publish or otherwise distribute material in its collections. Responsibility for making an independent legal assessment of an item from the Library’s collections and for securing any necessary permissions rests with persons desiring to use the item.

Please contact us with questions.

Obtaining Copies of VHP Materials

In order for VHP materials to be duplicated, we must receive written permission from the interviewee for you to obtain a copy of the recording unless the proposed use is limited to personal use, research, or other uses permissible by copyright law. If the interviewee is deceased, their next-of-kin may grant written permission.

Please contact VHP for assistance if you need to contact a veteran for permission to use their materials in exhibition or publication, or if you have received permission from the veteran and need access to high-resolution copies of VHP collection materials.

Citing VHP Materials

Please use the following formats when citing Veterans History Project materials (substituting the appropriate name and collection ID number).

Materials as a whole:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Manuscript material:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Memoirs (MS02), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.
  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Transcript (MS04), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.
  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Correspondence (MS01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Recording:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Audio recording (SR01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.
  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Video recording (MV01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Photograph:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Photographs (PH01), photographer unknown, Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.
  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Photographs (PH03-PH14), Ralph Williams photographer, Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Computer file:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Computer file (CF01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Artifact:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Artifact (AR01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Cite This Item

Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.

Chicago citation style:

Lugar, Richard, U.S. Senate/Richard Lugar, Franklin Nicholson, and Patricia H McClain. Franklin Nicholson Collection. 1941. Personal Narrative. https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.00712/.

APA citation style:

Lugar, R., U.S. Senate/Richard Lugar, Nicholson, F. & McClain, P. H. (1941) Franklin Nicholson Collection. [Personal Narrative] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.00712/.

MLA citation style:

Lugar, Richard, et al. Franklin Nicholson Collection. 1941. Personal Narrative. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.00712/>.