Ivan G Nichols was born on April 28, 1925 in Oneonta, Otsego County, New York. His parents were Howard C. Nichols (1899-1976) and Edna C. Carroll (1904-1985). They were married on September 3, 1922 and had three sons, Ivan being the middle child. The 1940 U.S. Census shows that in 1935 they were still living in Oneonta but by 1940 they were residing in Colonie, Albany County, New York where Howard was a caretaker of an estate. According to a War Department document they had moved back to Oneonta in 1944. Ivan attended Bugbee School in Oneonta and went to high school in Watervliet, Albany County, New York. While living in Colonie, Ivan met Barbara Danish and they were married on May 20, 1944.

On August 19, 1943, Ivan was inducted into the Army. Shortly before, on May 14, 1943, the Army Air Force established the 454th Bombardment Group.  This was a heavy bomber group based on the B-24 Liberator aircraft. Ivan was assigned to the 454th Group as a flight crew member. It was necessary to prepare flight and ground crews for each of these bombers. A flight crew had nine members, each with a specific task. Individuals were sent to various military bases throughout the United States to receive the appropriate training pertaining to their task. Ivan was trained as a ball turret gunner. He received training at Tyndall Field, Florida; Westover Field, Massachusetts; Chatbom Field, South Carolina; and Langley Field, Virginia. Immediately after his wedding in May 1944, Ivan was flown to Tunisia as well as members of the other 454th flight crews for additional training. Ground crews had been shipped out previously to Italy. The ground and flight crews came together at the San Giovanni Airfield, west of Cerignola, Italy.  

In the final two years of World War II the United States Army Air Force and the Royal Air Force conducted a series of bombing attacks against the Italian city of Ferrara in the Po Valley. These attacks were directed at the large railroad switching yard at Ferrara. The elimination of this yard would terminate much of the rail traffic throughout the Po Valley. The 454th was used by the Americans in these attacks. They flew from the San Giovanni Airfield, located in the boot section of Italy, up the Adriatic Sea to the Po Valley and Ferrara.

On August 23, 1944 a formation of B-24s flew to Ferrara. Ivan was the ball turret gunner on the B-24J 44-41163 bomber. Heavy anti-aircraft artillery fire was encountered and the plane was hit. Based on a 1946 Army investigation of the incident, Sgt. Martin Stanley last sighted the plane as it, “fell toward the ground, first in a dive, then in a spin, and before reaching the ground exploded.” “Three parachutes were seen.”.   Four members of crew bailed out to safety; the other five perished, including Ivan. The crash site could not be investigated until after the war. Small fragments of the plane were found but no human remains existed. It was Ivan’s second flight mission. He is memorialized at Florence American Cemetery and Memorial in Florence, Città Metropolitana di Firenze, Toscana, Italy. He was awarded the Purple Heart and Air Medal posthumously.  His serial number was 32943042. He was 19 years old and only married three months when he died.

If you notice anything erroneous in this profile or have additional information to contribute to it, please contact Jim Greenberg at nez13820@gmail.com. 

Sources:

Individual Deceased Personnel File Ivan G. Nichols. U.S. Army Human Resources Command. Fort Knox, Kentucky.

Missing Air Crew Reports, National Archives. accessed at https://www.archives.gov/research/military/ww2/missing-air-crew-reports on January 10, 2023. 

New York State Department of Health; Albany, NY, USA; New York State Marriage Index https://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?dbid=61632&h=5947978&indiv=try&o_vc=Record:OtherRecord&rhSource=6224

accessed January 10, 2023

National Archives at St. Louis; St. Louis, Missouri; Wwii Draft Registration Cards For New York State, 10/16/1940 - 03/31/1947; Record Group: Records of the Selective Service System, 147

National Archives at College Park; College Park, Maryland, USA; Electronic Army Serial Number Merged File, 1938-1946; NAID: 1263923; Record Group Title: Records of the National Archives and Records Administration, 1789-ca. 2007; Record Group: 64; Box Number: 05872; Reel: 251 https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/8036998:8939?tid=&pid=&queryId=800a333c5b15334e98a5c51ceb5719d0&_phsrc=NtK17708&_phstart=successSource accessed January 11, 2023

Ancestry.com. U.S., World War II Military Personnel Missing In Action or Lost At Sea, 1941-1946 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2007. https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/17384:1199?tid=&pid=&queryId=800a333c5b15334e98a5c51ceb5719d0&_phsrc=NtK17711&_phstart=successSource accessed January 11, 2023

Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/56365705/ivan_glen-nichols: accessed February 5, 2025), memorial page for Sgt Ivan Glen Nichols (28 Apr 1925–23 Aug 1944), Find a Grave Memorial ID 56365705, citing Florence American Cemetery and Memorial, Florence, Città Metropolitana di Firenze, Toscana, Italy; Maintained by MAJ Jimmy Cotton (contributor 48803557). 

Sgt. Nichols, Shot Down in Liberalor, Declared Dead. Oneonta Herald. September 6, 1945.

Year: 1940; Census Place: Colonie, Albany, New York; Roll: m-t0627-02457; Page: 9A; Enumeration District: 1-48

https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/2307150:2442 accessed January 10, 2023

Year: 1930; Census Place: Oneonta, Otsego, New York; Page: 2B; Enumeration District: 0038; FHL microfilm: 2341370 https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/44457455:6224?tid=&pid=&queryId=f57062d0ea48c3787acb50a6db535d3c&_phsrc=NtK17717&_phstart=successSource accessed January 10, 2023

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