Monday, February 08, 1999

Vietnam vet's quest for medal fulfilled

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Former cop waited 29 years for high honor

BY PERRY BROTHERS
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Donald "Nick" Nicholson receives the Distinguished Service Cross. (Saed Hindash photo) | ZOOM |

        A National Guard battalion commander found a space on Donald R. “Nick” Nicholson's highly decorated Army fatigues and pinned the nation's second-highest military award onto the Vietnam veteran's chest Sunday.

        Mr. Nicholson, of Amelia, slowly raised his right hand in salute — a salute that marked the end of a 29-year battle for recognition from his country.

        The rare award — the Distinguished Service Cross — was presented to Mr. Nicholson during a ceremony Sunday afternoon at the National Guard Armory in Hartwell

        “It puts a closure to something that happened almost 30 years ago,” said Mr. Nicholson, who was honorably discharged in 1972 as an Army sergeant, first class, after four tours of duty in Vietnam. “But it seems like yesterday.”

        On Feb. 1, 1970, Mr. Nicholson was captured and held for 15 days as a prisoner of war in Vietnam after his platoon — the Army's 5th Special

        Forces — was caught in a cross-fire. Amid the gunfire, Mr. Nicholson gathered extra ammunition and stayed to cover his team's retreat.

        “It was a long time coming,” said his wife, Ann Nicholson, before the ceremony. “I'm just proud of the recognition he's receiving.”

        Until 1997, the federal government refused to recognize Mr. Nicholson's heroic actions because the mission that led to his capture was classified.

        That persistent refusal, and the U.S. public's less-than-receptive homecoming of Vietnam veterans, makes receiving the medal a sweet victory for Mr. Nicholson.

        “It was a void, but it's not there anymore,” he said.

        Mike Stephenson is a friend of Mr. Nicholson's and coordinator of The After Nam Group, based in Clermont County, a support group for Vietnam veterans. Mr. Stephenson said several Vietnam veterans have only recently been recognized for their service.

        “Vietnam was never really a popular war. I think a lot of (Vietnam veterans) were kind of looking for the thanks that they never got,” he said. “This closure means a lot to these guys.”

        Mr. Nicholson was nominated in 1970 for the Medal of Honor, the country's highest military award, but the Department of the Army denied the nomination.

        A father of three, Mr. Nicholson, 62, retired on disability in 1986 as chief of the Amelia Police Department. Health problems — including heart bypass surgery — made him fear that he would die before he received the award.

        After several inquires, Mr. Nicholson wrote in September 1997 to U.S. Rep. Rob Portman, R-Terrace Park, who asked the Army to expedite the release of the classified materials.

        With Sunday's ceremony, Mr. Nicholson finally officially added the medal to his collection of more than a dozen other military honors, including the National Defense Service Medal and a Purple Heart.

       

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