William W. Nichols was born on March 17, 1937, to Mr. and Mrs. William Nichols, Sr. in Hackensack. His home of record is Ridgewood, NJ. Nichols graduated from Ridgewood High School in 1955. He was active in the Spanish Club, Booster Club, Junior and Senior Play committees and the Arrow art staff. He also served as treasurer of the youth group at Emmanuel Baptist Church.
Nichols studied at Penn State University, where he was active in ROTC, was part of the Perishing Rifle drill team, a member of Phi Kappa Tau fraternity and was singles and doubles handball champion.
He entered the service in August 1959, did ranger training and finished first in his airborne training class at Fort Benning. He them served 3.5 years in Germany. Ward was then assigned to Fort Ord in California and went to Fort Bragg for refresher training before being sent to Vietnam in February 1965 with the U.S. Military Assistance Command in the role of advisor. He served in the US Army and attained the rank of Captain (CAPT).
Nichols was killed in action on October 4, 1965, when the South Vietnamese unit for which he was the advisor was ambushed near Phu Ly, 225 miles from Saigon. He was dashing through enemy fire to coordinate defensive efforts when he was hit by a mortar shell. For these actions, he was posthumously awarded the Silver and Bronze Stars. He was also awarded the Gallantry Cross with palm and the National Order, fifth class from the Vietnamese Government.
Nichols was survived by his parents, his wife Warrene Shreve and eight month old son.
He is buried in Block X, Lot 98, Section B, Grave 4 in George Washington Memorial Park in Paramus. A stained glass window at Emmanuel Baptist Church is dedicated to his memory.
Sources: Newspaper clippings, Ridgewood High School yearbook, “At Death he was 25 Years Old” by Christopher C. Stout and NJVVMF.
12/17/2024
