Private James Watson Nichols 38212916 US Army. He was Born on June 26, 1916 in Searcy White County, Arkansas the son of Odis Nichols and Alta Watson Nichols. He enlisted on August 15, 1942, at the age of 26. He served in,  F Company, 253^rd Infantry Regiment, 63^rd Infantry Division. 

On April 2, 1945 after the company had crossed the Necker River, LT. Castleberry was driving a Jeep to Second Battalion Headquarters with PFC James V. Musto and Private James W. Nichols when a German sniper shot Castleberry, causing him to drive off a small bridge and flip over. The Jeep pinned Castleberry down. At this point, PFC Musto and Private Nichols, who were uninjured in the crash, pulled Lieutenant Castleberry out of the Jeep and dragged him to a ditch because the three men were still under fire by the German sniper. At this point, the two privates began to conduct first aid on Castleberry. Once they had stopped the bleeding, the two men exposed themselves to enemy fire when they went searching for something to use as a litter. They came back to the ditch with a gate on which they would put and carry Castleberry. The two men carried the lieutenant over 100 yards down a road “exposed to possible enemy sniper fire.” The injuries that Castleberry suffered caused him to spend the next two years in hospitals recovering.

Private Nichols, was Awarded the Combat Infantry Badge, the Bronze Star Medal, the Purple Heart Medal, The American Theater of operations, the European Theater of Operations Medal ETO with 2 battle star, and the World War Two Victory Medal. He died on December 5, 1990 in California at the age of 74. he was burred at Riverside, Riverside County, California, USA

 

1- The Battle of Buchhof and Stein am Kocher

2- https://aad.archives.gov/aad/record-detail.jsp?dt=893&mtch=1&cat=all&tf=F&q=38212916&bc=sd&rpp=10&pg=1&rid=7213658

3- U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007