James W. Nicholson – Warrant Officer, United States Marine Corps

From a contemporary press report:

James W. Nicholson, 80, a retired Marine Corps warrant officer and a combat veteran of the Sino-Japanese War, World War II and the Korean War, died of cancer Thursday (11-19-98 at Underwood Memorial Hospital in Woodbury, New Jersey. He lived in Gloucester City, New Jersey.

After serving in the Marine Corps from 1936 to 1956, Mr. Nicholson, known to most as “Nick,” spent the next 10 years working as a federal civil servant as a purchasing officer and equipment specialist at the Marine Corps Supply Depot in South Philadelphia.

After retiring from the government, he worked as a sales representative for Pritchett Realty in Haddon Heights, New Jersey, and later as an assistant manager at the Philadelphia Navy Base Package Store and Post Exchange.

During World War II, Mr. Nicholson was promoted to chief warrant officer and participated in five amphibious landings during the island-hopping campaigns against the Japanese, including at Iwo Jima, Saipan and Guadalcanal. During Guadalcanal, a nearby shell collapsed his lung, and he was evacuated. During the Korean War, he was commended for bringing a convoy across the peninsula with the loss of only one Marine.

Mr. Nicholson was a member of VFW Post 3620 and as a “China Hand” belonged to the China Marine Association.

Surviving are his wife, Marie D. Maas Nicholson; sons Robert R., William J. and James D., obituary writer for the Philadelphia Daily News; nine grandchildren; a brother, Horace; and a sister, Myrtle Strickland.

Service and burial with full military honors will be in early December at Arlington National Cemetery.

Memorial contributions are suggested to the Marine Toys for Tots Foundation, Marine Corps Base, Box 227, Quantico, Virginia. 22134-0227.

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