DOB/DOD: October 25, 1940 (New London, OH) – October 13, 1970; 29 years old
RELIGION: Assemblies of God
MARITAL STATUS: Married JoAnna Beller (1940-2023) on August 19, 1961, in Kalispell, Montana. JoAnna remarried in 1985 and again in 2000, after her second husband passed away.
CHILDREN: Two sons, Wesley D. (1964-) and Joel P. (1965-). One daughter, Wendalyn Rae (1962-).
COLLEGE: B.A. degree from Evangel College in Springfield, Missouri, in 1962, and a B.D. Degree from Gordon Divinity School, Wenham, Massachusetts, in May 1966
SERVICE NUMBER: 574126494
ENLISTMENT: June 22, 196918
MILITARY OCCUPATIONAL SPECIALTY: 5310, Chaplain
TOUR START DATE: March 6, 1970
UNIT: Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion, 52nd Infantry Regiment, 198th Infantry Brigade, 23rd Infantry Division (Americal)
CASUALTY LOCATION: 12 miles northwest of Quang Ngai City, Quang Ngai Province, South Vietnam
ON THE WALL: Panel 7W, Line 133
FAMILY: Born to Reverend Arthur R. (1908-1979) and Grace G. Jacobs Nichols (1918-1999). Three sisters, Miriam L. Nichols Huling (1937-2023), Lois E. Nichols Berninger (1939-2007), and Gloria R. Nichols Hallberg (1944-). One brother, LeRoy “Roy” A. (1946-).
DECORATIONS: Awarded the Bronze Star Medal with Merit, the Purple Heart Medal (twice), the Army Commendation Medal, and the Air Medal (twice).
CIRCUMSTANCES: On March 18, 1969, the U.S. Army’s 198th Brigade and the 6th Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) Regiment embarked upon Operation Geneva Park in Quang Ngai Province, RVN, a mission to eliminate the enemy forces within their area of operation while stressing pacification and combined U.S./ARVN operations. On October 13, 1970, a command element of the 198th Brigade was devastated when a member of the B Company, 1st Battalion, 52nd Infantry Command Group detonated a booby-trap while moving to a night defensive position 12 miles northwest of Quang Ngai City. Nine U.S. personnel were killed and six were wounded in the blast. An ARVN interpreter accompanying them was also killed. The explosion was caused by either a booby-trapped 105mm round. Lost in the blast from B/1-52 were commander CPT Robert E. Harper, radioman SP4 Ricks A. Hutson, and infantrymen SP4 Larry A. Walker and PFC Stephen M. Cady; from Headquarters Company (1-52): chaplain CPT Phillip A. Nichols, and medics SP4 Mark I. Gross and PFC Eugene O. Brown; and from D Battery, 1st Battalion, 14th Artillery: 1LT Lawrence M. Sullivan and SP4 Anibal P. Lozada-Vichy. Three medivac “dustoffs” were required to remove the dead and wounded from the field. The seriously wounded were taken to both the 27th Surgical Hospital and the 91st Evacuation Hospital at Chu Lai. [From coffeltdatabase.org and Operational Report, Lesson Learned, Headquarters, 23rd Infantry Division, period ending October 1970]
Homer High School (Alaska) Class of 1958. Photos contributed by Deb Curtis, Librarian at Homer High.
Photos from the 1959, 1961, and 1962 yearbooks for Evangel College
From vvmf.org August 22, 2021 by Mike Archer
Recently, I was contacted by a young man by the name of Joel Nichols. His father was a KIA in Vietnam; we were good friends. His name is US Army Chaplain Phillip Nichols, and he is one man I have no problem talking about. Unfortunately, I am selfish and always say, “Phillip left me, just when I needed him most,” it was even raining, as the song says. But Phillip was just my friend, not my father; I forget that sometimes, Joel Nichols never does.
I thought Joel and I would breeze through this Q&A, but I was sadly mistaken. It was heart-wrenching and emotionally exhausting. But man, am I glad we had that little chat. Thank you from the bottom of my heart, young man!
In my interview for NPR the other day, after we were finished, I talked to the Gold Star son, Joel Nichols, who asked me questions about his Dad. I told him that being a Gold Star Family member is better than being an Olympic Gold Medal winner. The mediator stopped me from recording it.
I think the mediator understood what I was trying to say, liked it, recorded it, and I’m sure it will be added to our Q&A recording. What I was telling the young man was straight from my heart. Sports is one thing, but losing your father at 5 years old is unmatched. People need to realize stuff like that.
People have said many things to me throughout the last 51 years about Vietnam. I tell them I’m no hero by a long shot; I just got lucky many times. When it’s no fault of their own, a kid that grows up without a Dad is the true Hero/Warrior/Survivor; remember that, people! That’s tough!
Respectfully, Mike Archer
From U.S. Army Chaplaincy, 1945-1975, by Rodger R. Venzke
One of the “performers” was Chaplain Phillip Nichols, Assemblies of God, serving with the Americal Division. Leaving a civilian church in Bonners Ferry, Idaho, to join the Army Chaplaincy in June 1969, his total military career lasted only 16 months. Arriving in Vietnam in March 1970, he was killed on the evening of 13 October while accompanying men of the 198th Infantry Brigade when a concealed enemy explosive device detonated near him. One of those leaders who had to face the challenges referred to by Chaplain Stegman was Nichols’ brigade commander. “Phil’s absence will be keenly felt by all in the Brigade,” wrote Colonel William R. Richardson to Mrs. Nichols. “I admired him for his continuous efforts to go to the field, in spite of inherent dangers, in order to be with the men of his battalion and to provide them spiritual assistance… his compassion for his men endeared him to every soldier, making his death a shocking experience for all of us.”
Buried in Conrad Memorial Cemetery, 641 Conrad Drive, Kalispell, Montana; Section K, Lot 62, Grave 6.
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