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Monday, February 08, 1999 |
The Cincinnati Enquirer Vietnam vet's quest for medal fulfilled -- Former cop waited 29
years for high honor Donald "Nick" Nicholson receives the Distinguished
Service Cross. 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 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. Friday, March 05, 1999 Ex-police chief faked war record
Donald Nicholson cradles an Army jacket with medals back in February, before his story unraveled. A month after being honored with the nation's second-highest military medal, a retired Amelia police chief admitted Thursday that his stories of war valor and intrigue were lies. The 62-year-old - honored in a Feb. 7 ceremony at the National Guard Armory in Hartwell - told The Cincinnati Enquirer that he was never even in the Army. He said he bought the medal from a stranger 2 1/2 years ago, along with several forged military documents. In the compact living room of his split-level ranch home in Amelia, Donald R. "Nick"; Nicholson cried as he confessed to fabricating the story. He said he did it to receive increased veterans benefits. "I've lived such a straight-laced way of life since I was a kid. Nothing but honor and integrity always came first, until 2 1/2 years ago," Mr. Nicholson said. "I can't face this. I've got such a good reputation." Now Mr. Nicholson, who was honored several times for his work as Amelia police chief from 1982 to 1986, could face federal charges. An Enquirer story Feb. 8 described an emotional awards ceremony for Mr. Nicholson, during which the Army National Guard's 147th Armor Battalion presented him the Distinguished Service Cross (DSC). As family and friends looked on, a handwritten citation was read during the ceremony, praising Mr. Nicholson for heroic action during his Vietnam service in the Army and as a prisoner of war. The story included details of Mr. Nicholson's frustrating 29-year quest for recognition by the government. However, after a two-week investigation by The Enquirer, neither records of Mr. Nicholson's Army service nor confirmation of any Army awards could be found. Soon after the story ran, several veterans and former POWs e-mailed The Enquirer asserting that Mr. Nicholson was not what he claimed to be: a former POW and member of the 5th Special Forces. The Enquirer's search included requests for records and information from the Department of the Army in Alexandria, Va., the U.S. National Guard Inspector General's Office in the Pentagon, and the National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis. Mr. Nicholson was not listed on any special forces or POW databases compiled and maintained by Department of Defense POW/MIA Personnel Office. The only records found documented his service in the Navy, from 1964 to 1968. In an interview Tuesday, Mr. Nicholson insisted that the government had either erred or was concealing his files because the work he did for the Army was top-secret. But when confronted Thursday with information from a resume for the police chief position -- which placed him in Florida when he claimed to be in Vietnam (1968-72) -- Mr. Nicholson confessed. He said that a man named "Noble" approached him about two years ago and offered increased Veterans Administration benefits in exchange for $2,000. The fake medals and papers were part of the process. The claim of increased benefits was false. Mr. Nicholson said he threw all of his medals and decorations in the trash, which was picked up Thursday morning. Mr. Nicholson, who has heart disease and Parkinson's disease, said he had hoped to allow his wife of 16 years to quit her job and spend more time with him. Before Noble approached him, Mr. Nicholson said, he had never spoken of his military experiences with his wife, Ann, or their 14-year-old son. Claims of classified or top-secret missions such as Mr. Nicholson's are red flags for veterans and former POWs like Mike McGrath of Colorado Springs, Colo., who makes an avocation of tracking what he calls "wannabes." "It should be known that they are not one of us and we don't want them to be one of us," said Mr. McGrath, president of NAM-POWs Inc. "They're trying to live off of our honor and our honorable service to our country." About 250 suspected "wannabes" are listed on NAM-POWs' "Hall of Shame" Web site. "It is well-known that there are 660 POWs," he said, "and we know who the POWs were. The POW list has been well-established by the Department of Defense for the last 26 years." Mr. Nicholson's name was not on the list. Shari Lawrence, a deputy public affairs officer with the U.S. Total Army Personnel Command in Alexandria, said Thursday she will forward Mr. Nicholson's information to the Department of Justice, which will decide whether it wants to press charges of forging military documents and honors. The maximum penalties for such offenses range from fines to a year in prison. In February, Mr. Nicholson gave a stack of papers to officials at the National Guard Armory in Hartwell and asked them to present the award to him. There was no order or citation included with the award. The top paper in the stack was from U.S. Rep. Rob Portman's office, which led the officials to think the Terrace Park congressman was involved. "We've have no record of having initiated any casework on Mr. Nicholson's behalf," said Brian Besanceney, spokesman for Mr. Portman. Apparently, Mr. Nicholson received a standard fill-in-the-blank privacy release form but never returned it to Mr. Portman's office to start a congressional inquiry, Mr. Besanceney said. Such inquiries often help veterans expedite the award process. Mr. Nicholson said he told the National Guard battalion that Mr. Portman had helped him and backed up the claim with the document, which was not signed by Mr. Portman. Col. Mark Sullivan, deputy inspector general for the National Guard at the Pentagon, said his office is looking into the circumstances that led to the ceremony. Whatever the legal and military fallout of Mr. Nicholson's false claims, he has suffered personal consequences. After his tearful confession, he expressed suicidal feelings and was taken to Mercy Hospital Anderson, where officials refused to disclose his status Thursday night. While waiting for police and paramedics to arrive, Mr. Nicholson sat in front of his garage and stared at a black POW/MIA flag snapping in the wind at the end of his driveway. March 1999 UMI Fake hero story hits Vietnam vet just 'like a bullet' For more than a year, David Murrell considered Donald R. "Nick" Nicholson a friend: a man who understood - like any of the 103 members of the Clermont County chapter of the Vietnam Veterans of America - what happened "in-country." Then, at lunch on Friday, he read in The Cincinnati Enquirer Mr. Nicholson's admission that he lied about his military history and being a prisoner of war. "It went through me like a bullet," Mr. Murrell said Friday. "He took honor away from those who gave their lives in Vietnam, and I think that's what's hurting us the worst." Mr. Nicholson, a 62-year-old retired Amelia police chief, remained under observation at Mercy Hospital Anderson. He could face federal charges of unauthorized presentation of medals and falsifying documents. Several branches of the government are investigating to decide if charges should be filed. Mr. Nicholson was honored Feb. 7 at the National Guard Armory in Hartwell for receiving the second-highest military award, the Distinguished Service Cross, for extreme heroism in a foreign war. Several veterans saw the story on the Internet and questioned Mr. Nicholson's legitimacy. An investigation by the Enquirer revealed that Mr. Nicholson was never in the Army, and that during the time he was allegedly a prisoner of war, he was a self-employed security guard in Florida. He did serve in the Navy, from 1964 to 1968. Mr. Nicholson presented fake Army discharge papers to Mr. Murrell more than a year ago, when he joined the Vietnam Veterans of America. The official-looking papers were proof enough for the group, some of whom knew Mr. Nicholson as a "The sad part is that Mr. Nicholson portrayed it so well, we didn't question him," Mr. Murrell said. "This is nothing new, wannabes - they've infested a lot of our chapters. We have had people that have never served a day that have been in high-ranking positions in some of our (nationwide) chapters." Creating a war hero's identity is relatively easy. Every medal and ribbon, save the highest, the Medal of Honor, can be legally bought and sold, said Shari Lawrence, a deputy public affairs officer for the U.S. Total Army Personnel Command. Mr. Murrell himself bought new ribbons to replace a couple of his worn, 30-year-old awards. Mike McGrath, president of a national prisoner of war organization, NAM-POWs Inc., maintains a list of 250 people suspected of fraudulently claiming war heroism. Mr. McGrath helped expose a Church Hill, Tenn., minister who this week received five years of probation for wearing an unauthorized military uniform and unauthorized display of decorations and awards. Roger Dale Dinsmore, 53, also received a $4,000 fine for masquerading as a Vietnam War hero. Larry Greer, who maintains a database of Vietnam POWs for the Department of Defense POW - MIA Personnel office, said the Nicholson case is another example of the accuracy of the database. The Amelia man was not on Mr. Greer's list of POWs. "To our memory, and some of our corporate memory goes back 20 years, in no instance has anyone ever come forward and said that he was a former POW without him being a fake," Mr. Greer said. The database is on the Internet at www.dtic.mil - dpmo Greg Lockhart, an assistant U.S. attorney in Dayton, is the only federal prosecutor in the Southern Ohio district - which includes Dayton, Cincinnati and Columbus - to have tried this type of case. Gary L. "Lucky" Locks used a fake military history when he applied for a federal position. He was sentenced to three years of probation and a $1,000 fine in April 1993. Mr. Murrell knows wannabes are out there, but this case has hit home. "I think, though, down the road, we will be more cautious," he said. "When it hits hometown Batavia, it's a different story than when it's California or New York. Now it's come down to our county. March 14, 2000 A former Amelia police chief who crafted an elaborate tale of Vietnam War heroism pleaded guilty to related charges in federal court Monday. Donald R. "Nick" Nicholson faces up to 18 months in prison and $105,000 in fines for unlawful use of a false military discharge certificate and unauthorized wearing of military medals and decorations. Front Page Veteran pleads guilty to lying -
Man had claimed he was war hero A former Amelia police chief who crafted an elaborate tale of Vietnam War heroism pleaded guilty to related charges in federal court Monday. Donald R. "Nick" Nicholson faces up to 18 months in prison and $105,000 in fines for unlawful use of a false military discharge certificate and unauthorized wearing of military medals and decorations. The 63-year-old Amelia man was released on bond until a presentencing investigation is completed. Sentencing is expected within two to three months, according to the office of the U.S. attorney, Southern District of Ohio. The U.S. attorney ordered an FBI investigation into Mr. Nicholson's past last spring, after he confessed to The Cincinnati Enquirer that he had faked his war record and used false information to stage a Feb. 7 medal presentation ceremony. Other Vietnam veterans raised questions about Mr. Nicholson's past after the Enquirer ran an article about the ceremony - during which a National Guard I-147th armored battalion commander at the Hartwell armory pinned the nation's second-highest military honor, the Distinguished Service Cross, on Mr. Nicholson's fatigues. Mr. Nicholson had given National Guard officials a stack of counterfeit military papers and asked them to present the award to him. There was no order or citation included with the award. The top paper in the stack was from U.S. Rep. Rob Portman's office, which led the officials to think the Terrace Park congressman was involved. He was not. The form was a standard request form that veterans may use for help in obtaining medals. An investigation by the Enquirer revealed that Mr. Nicholson had never been in the Army and was working as a security guard at the time he had claimed to be a prisoner of war. When the Enquirer confronted him with a resume he had submitted for the Amelia police chief's position - which placed him in Florida when he claimed to be in Vietnam (1968-72) - Mr. Nicholson admitted he had lied. He was honored several times for his work as Amelia police chief from 1982 to 1986. He did serve in the Navy from 1964 to 1968 but never in Vietnam. In his tearful confession, Mr. Nicholson told the Enquirer that he had paid a stranger named "Noble" for the papers and medals. He said the stranger told him he could get increased veterans benefits if he staged the ceremony at the armory. 11 August 2000 Ex-cop who lied gets probation Amelia man faked Army honors By Marie McCain A retired Amelia police chief who accepted a Distinguished Service Cross for Army service he fabricated and who had falsely claimed to be a former prisoner of war in Vietnam was sentenced Thursday to three years' probation. Donald R. Nicholson, 63, had pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in March to charges of unlawful use of a false military discharge certificate and unauthorized wearing of military medals and decoration. As part of his sentence, he was ordered to pay $300 in fines by U.S. Magistrate Judge Timothy S. Hogan. Mr. Nicholson, of Amelia, purchased a medal and phony documents that alleged he had served with the U.S. Army during Vietnam. He also claimed to have been a prisoner of war, and detailed a frustrating 29-year quest for government recognition. But following an investigation by The Cincinnati Enquirer, a month after he was awarded the nation's second-highest military medal in February 1999, Mr. Nicholson admitted purchasing the faked papers 21/2 years earlier in the hopes of increasing his Veterans Affairs benefits. Mr. Nicholson served in the Navy from 1964-1968. But he never served in the Army and had never been a POW in Vietnam. Shortly after admitting he lied, Mr. Nicholson said he threw all of his medals and decorations in the trash. He was Amelia's police chief from 1982-1986 and received several honors for his service. He could not be reached for comment Thursday." |
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