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Veterans History Project Service Summary:

  • War or Conflict: World War, 1914-1918
  • Branch of Service: Marine Corps
  • Unit of Service: 49th Company, 5th Marine Regiment
  • Location of Service: France
  • Highest Rank: Chief Warrant Officer

View full service history

"Hell, I didn't want to leave. I felt well enough to stay. But I didn't want to face a military court so I went to the hospital." (Article: "Gunner Nice of the Devil-Dogs.")

By the time the United States entered World War I, William Frederick Nice was a 12-year Marine veteran of campaigns in Haiti, Santo Domingo, Mexico, and Cuba. Nice fought in some of the Great War's fiercest battles, serving in the 49th Company whose slogan was "We tame the tough ones and toughen the tame ones." The exploits of the 49th inspired a popular book,

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[ War Service Certificate - United States Marine Corps ]
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[ Citation (in French) ]
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[ Service Acknowledgement ]
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[ Except from order No. 12.718 "D" ]

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[ Recommendation for Permanent Warrant 3/1/1919 ]
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[ Acknowledgement of Service Rendered ]
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[ Certificate awarded by a grateful nation ]
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[ Regimental Unit History of the 49th Company of the Marine Second Division ]
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[ Article: Gunner Nice of the "Devil-Dogs" ]
Transcript: XML

About this Item

Title

  • William Frederick Nice Collection

Names

  • DeNicola, Rosemarie
  • Nice, William Frederick

State of Birth

  • PA

Home State

  • NJ

Headings

  • -  Nice, William Frederick
  • -  World War, 1914-1918 -- Personal Narratives
  • -  United States. Marine Corps.

Repository

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

Gender

  • Male

Status

  • Veteran

Service History

  • World War, 1914-1918

    • Branch of Service: Marine Corps
    • Unit of Service: 49th Company, 5th Marine Regiment
    • Location of Service: France
    • Highest Rank: Chief Warrant Officer
    • Dates of Service: 1917-1919
    • Military Status: Veteran

Materials

  • Manuscript: Printed matter [1 item] -- (collected unknown)
  • Photograph: Original photographic print [1 item] -- (collected 1919)
  • Photograph: Original photographic print [1 item] -- (collected 1919)
  • Artifact: Artifact [14 items] -- (collected unknown)
  • Manuscript: Scrapbooks [1 item] -- Mixed (handwritten and typewritten documents) (collected 1930 - 1945)
  • Manuscript: Clippings [1 item] -- Typewritten document (collected unknown)
  • Manuscript: Unit histories [1 item] -- (collected unknown)
  • Manuscript: Printed matter [1 item] -- (collected unknown)
  • Manuscript: Printed matter [2 items] -- (collected 1961)
  • Manuscript: Other Manuscript Material [1 item] -- (collected 03/29/1920)
  • Manuscript: Clippings [3 items] -- (collected 09/10/1933)
  • Manuscript: Military papers (orders, personnel/201 files, etc) [1 item] -- (collected unknown)
  • Manuscript: Mixed (Multiple types of manuscripts) [9 items] -- (collected unknown)
  • Manuscript: Other Manuscript Material [1 item] -- (collected 01/04/1890)
  • Manuscript: Military papers (orders, personnel/201 files, etc) [3 items] -- (collected unknown)
  • Manuscript: Military papers (orders, personnel/201 files, etc) [1 item] -- (collected 06/25/1919)
  • Manuscript: Printed matter [1 item] -- (collected unknown)
  • Manuscript: Clippings [ item] -- (collected unknown)
  • Manuscript: Other Manuscript Material [1 item] -- (collected 04/15/1925)
  • Manuscript: Correspondence [6 items] -- (collected 1935)
  • Manuscript: Military papers (orders, personnel/201 files, etc) [8 items] -- (collected unknown)
  • Manuscript: Correspondence [2 items] -- (collected 1937)
  • Manuscript: Other Manuscript Material [1 item] -- (collected unknown)
  • Manuscript: Printed matter [3 items] -- (collected unknown)
  • Manuscript: Printed matter [1 item] -- (collected unknown)
  • Manuscript: Other Manuscript Material [1 item] -- (collected 08/08/2002)

Collection Number

  • AFC/2001/001/1339

Cite as

  • William Frederick Nice Collection (AFC/2001/001/1339), Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress

Online Format

  • image

Additional Metadata Formats

IIIF Presentation Manifest

Wars & Conflicts

Service Branch

Location of Service

Service Unit

Gender

Highest Rank

Discharge Status

Interviewee

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/xxxx), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Manuscript material:

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

Recording:

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

Photograph:

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

Computer file:

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

Artifact:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/xxxx), 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:

Denicola, Rosemarie, and William Frederick Nice. William Frederick Nice Collection. 1917. Personal Narrative. https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.01339/.

APA citation style:

Denicola, R. & Nice, W. F. (1917) William Frederick Nice Collection. [Personal Narrative] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.01339/.

MLA citation style:

Denicola, Rosemarie, and William Frederick Nice. William Frederick Nice Collection. 1917. Personal Narrative. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.01339/>.