Post by kanowarrior on Apr 11, 2012 11:13:27 GMT -5
By: Chris Dumond | The News & Advance
Published: April 10, 2012
Updated: April 10, 2012 - 10:18 PM
If his apartment were on fire, the one thing 89-year-old Ford Nichols would save would be his uniform jacket, he said Tuesday.
Set in a shadow box and lit with a lamp, the green jacket with its ribbons and campaign stars hangs in a place of honor in Nichols’ spare bedroom amongst mementos from his life. Nichols shared them Tuesday morning with six other World War II veterans visiting from the Adult Care Center in downtown Lynchburg.
Nichols joined the Marine Corps in 1943 and served during the war on the aircraft carrier U.S.S. Monterey. His service with future President Gerald Ford drew oohs and aahs from the octogenarian crowd as he passed around a picture of Ford and other shipmates.
The Monterey gave far worse than it got during the war, Nichols said, only put out of commission by a December 1944 typhoon.
“The ship rolled so badly, the planes started banging into each other and caught fire,” he said.
Ford, setting out to help fight the fires, nearly was pitched overboard by the rolling deck, Nichols said.
In swapping stories, former Coast Guard cook Allen Angel bragged he had the best job in the service. If you did the job properly, Angel said, everyone was your friend.
“I wouldn’t take nothing in the world for it,” he said. “But, I’d give everything to not have to do it again.”
Nichols passed around ammunition salvaged from a sunken Japanese ship, noting one of the cartridges was marked “WRA” for Winchester Repeating Arms.
“They were shooting our own stuff back at us,” he said.
When the Care Center aides asked if the men were afraid during the war, most shook their heads no, but Army veteran Joe Orona spoke up. Orona, who was injured during the D-Day landings on Utah Beach, said he was most definitely afraid while being shot at by the enemy.
The walls of the room also are marked with remembrances from his years running Nick’s Electronics and Appliances in Altavista, family photos and his later career at the Lowe’s store in Madison Heights, from which he retired late last year.
“I never threw anything away,” he said, pointing first to a photo of himself taken in the late 1920s, then to a figurine in a cabinet featured in the photograph.
The men met each other at the Court Street Care Center. Field trips such as those to Nichols’ home keep the retired men busy during the workday.
Published: April 10, 2012
Updated: April 10, 2012 - 10:18 PM
If his apartment were on fire, the one thing 89-year-old Ford Nichols would save would be his uniform jacket, he said Tuesday.
Set in a shadow box and lit with a lamp, the green jacket with its ribbons and campaign stars hangs in a place of honor in Nichols’ spare bedroom amongst mementos from his life. Nichols shared them Tuesday morning with six other World War II veterans visiting from the Adult Care Center in downtown Lynchburg.
Nichols joined the Marine Corps in 1943 and served during the war on the aircraft carrier U.S.S. Monterey. His service with future President Gerald Ford drew oohs and aahs from the octogenarian crowd as he passed around a picture of Ford and other shipmates.
The Monterey gave far worse than it got during the war, Nichols said, only put out of commission by a December 1944 typhoon.
“The ship rolled so badly, the planes started banging into each other and caught fire,” he said.
Ford, setting out to help fight the fires, nearly was pitched overboard by the rolling deck, Nichols said.
In swapping stories, former Coast Guard cook Allen Angel bragged he had the best job in the service. If you did the job properly, Angel said, everyone was your friend.
“I wouldn’t take nothing in the world for it,” he said. “But, I’d give everything to not have to do it again.”
Nichols passed around ammunition salvaged from a sunken Japanese ship, noting one of the cartridges was marked “WRA” for Winchester Repeating Arms.
“They were shooting our own stuff back at us,” he said.
When the Care Center aides asked if the men were afraid during the war, most shook their heads no, but Army veteran Joe Orona spoke up. Orona, who was injured during the D-Day landings on Utah Beach, said he was most definitely afraid while being shot at by the enemy.
The walls of the room also are marked with remembrances from his years running Nick’s Electronics and Appliances in Altavista, family photos and his later career at the Lowe’s store in Madison Heights, from which he retired late last year.
“I never threw anything away,” he said, pointing first to a photo of himself taken in the late 1920s, then to a figurine in a cabinet featured in the photograph.
The men met each other at the Court Street Care Center. Field trips such as those to Nichols’ home keep the retired men busy during the workday.
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