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"I was determined I wasn't going to end there." (Audio Interview, 24:18)

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   Franklin Nicholson
Image of Franklin Nicholson
Franklin Nicholson in uniform [1944]
War: World War, 1939-1945
Branch: Army
Unit: 96th Infantry Division
Service Location: Pacific Theater; Okinawa Island (Ryukyu Islands)
Rank: Major
Place of Birth: IN
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Serving on Okinawa, the last major battleground of World War II, Franklin Nicholson was wounded two days before the island was taken from the Japanese. Hit in the jaw by fragments of a mortar shell, he lost several teeth and fought not to choke on his own blood as he lay awaiting aid. The first army surgeon who treated him had worked on Nicholson during his training days for complications from dental surgery. And a chaplain whom he would later become close to in the States discovered a wound in his back that the medics had missed. Disfigured but determined, Nicholson forged a successful career and led a normal family life back home in Indiana.

Interview (Audio)
»Interview Highlights  (4 clips)
»Complete Interview  (43 min.)
»Transcript
  Photos
»Photo Album (2 photos)
 Memoirs
»Franklin Nicholson, Salem, Indiana
 Official Documents
»View List (2 items)
 Personal Correspondence
»View List (3 items)
 Other Materials
»View List (3 items)
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 Audio (Interview Excerpts) (4 items)
Moving on to Okinawa; invading in their "Easter bonnets;" wounded on June 20, two days before the island was secured. (00:59) Incident on Okinawa where his men were being shelled by their own artillery; threatening to turn around and attack the artillery positions. (01:24) Describing the day he was wounded; trying not choke on his own blood from his mouth wound; during training, had had a wisdom tooth removed by the same surgeon who treated who treated his mouth wound from combat. (04:56)
A chaplain in the aid station discovering a wound that had not been noticed: a hole in his back; on the ship back to the states, an encounter with a maggot. (02:17)  
  
 Official Documents (2 items)
Presidential Unit Citation awarded to the 96th Infantry Division Announcement of Nicholson's promotion to Major and discharge from the Armed Services 
  
 Personal Correspondence (3 items)
Telegram informing parents of Nicholson's wounding on Okinawa [7/27/1945] Vmail to Mom and Dad [undated] Letter to Mom and Dad [7/19/1945]
  
 Other Materials (3 items)
Map showing where Nicholson was wounded on Okinawa on June 20, 1945 Memoir of her grandfather, Franklin Nicholson, by Lynette Jackson Photograph of Nicholson and a collage of newsclippings detailing his service
  
 
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  The Library of Congress  >> American Folklife Center
  October 26, 2011
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