Ralph William Nicholson was born Feb. 16, 1922 to George W. and Minnie Catherine Nicholson. He died June 6, 1944. He was initially buried near Ste. Mere Eglise in the Blosille Temporary Cemetery and his remains were later shipped home for burial in Greenwood Cemetery, Nashua, IA.
Pvt. Nicholson served in World War II with the U.S. Army Co. G, 508th Parachute Infantry Division, 82nd Airborne Division and was KIA in Normandy, France. He was awarded the Purple Heart.
Source: ancestry.com
***Further Research:
He enlisted in the U.S. Army on December 2 1942 and volunteered for parachutist duty. As the 508th was preparing for its role in the invasion of Normandy, Nicholson volunteered a second time ... to be a Pathfinder. That meant being amongst the very first to jump, about an hour and a half ahead of the main force, so that he could set up signals that would guide the rest of the regiment into the proper landing zones.
It was a very dangerous job but before midnight on June 5, 1944 he parachuted into Normandy. Unfortunately, Ralph was killed in action on D-Day itself, June 6, 1944 and he was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart.
He was initially buried near Ste. Mere Eglise in the Blosville Temporary Cemetery at Plot G, Row 1, Grave 2.
Gravesite Details Following the war: His family elected to have his remains shipped home and he was buried in the Greenwood Cemetery in May 1948.
Source: Find A Grave
