When Martin Nichols? granddaughter called seeking some family history for a paper she was writing, he came across his father’s enlistment and discharge papers from World War I.
‘It had been years (since I looked at them),? said the Oxford resident.
According to Nichols, his father, Martin Nichols Sr., was born in Maine and became an orphan at the age of 11. He began working in printing shops and paper mills until he enlisted in the U.S. Army at age 17 on June 24, 1918. He served until he was honorably discharged on May 4, 1919. He was assigned to the 111th Infantry, 28th Division and was stationed in France.
‘He told me that they were rushing him (over to the war) because . . . he was from the state of Maine and had been a hunter,? Nichols said. ‘He had to show them how to take their rifles apart because they didn’t know how to do it.?
Nichols? father fought in the Meuse-Argonne Offensive from Sept. 26 to Oct. 9,1918 and in Thiaucourt Sector on November 11, 1918.
His father’s war stories typically revolved around the weather.
‘He said it rained everyday and he often thought it was the big guns that brought on the rain. That was the only thing he could attribute it to,? Nichols said. ‘They didn’t have the fowl weather gear and equipment that the soldiers in WWII had.?
Until the day he died, Nichols? father had ulcerated legs. His father attributed the condition to the leggings WWI soldiers wore as part of their uniform.
‘They were always wet,? Nichols said.
Food was another topic. Nichols said the kitchens couldn’t keep up with troop advancements in the field, so the soldiers often went hungry.
‘They were walking along (one day) and he spotted a piece of bread in the mud and was so hungry that he bent down, picked it up, scraped off the mud and ate it,? he said. ‘The only treat they had was hardtack, which was a super hard biscuit.?
Medics couldn’t keep up with troop movements, either.
‘The medics were always behind,? Nichols said. ‘If you got shot, (just) like the Civil War, you were (either going to have limbs) amputated or die.?
The Germans were a tough enemy.
‘He talked how the German officers took and chained the enlisted men to trees with their machine guns, so they would fight until they died,? Nichols said.
Like many WWI soldiers, his father was subject to some gas attacks, but nothing too severe.
‘They were not a complete weapon in the sense (that) depending on which way the wind was blowing, it could work backwards (toward the enemy troops that launched it),? he said.
Overall, Nichols said, ‘like any soldier,? his father didn’t talk ‘that much about the death and destruction.?
‘He talked (about) how in the battlefields, there were huge craters and bodies would be buried there,? he said. ‘Come spring , you could tell where there was a body because there would be a patch of flowers.?
Serving in the military is a Nichols? family tradition.
In addition to his father’s stint in the army, his uncle served in the U.S. Air Force and he enlisted in the U.S. Navy in March 1959.
Nichols served with a submarine unit. He was stationed aboard the USS Irex (SS482).
‘Our ship was a diesel electric submarine, but it had the nautilus sail,? he said. ‘We were the first snorkel submarine the United States had.?
A submarine snorkel is a device that allows a submarine to operate submerged while still taking in air from above the surface.
Nichols was an electronics technician in charge of radars, electronic counter measures and wandering navigation.
While he can recall many stories from his 12 years of service, one that particularly sticks out in his mind was the 14-day span in October 1962 known as the Cuban Missile Crisis.
‘The night before, we had just come in off of patrol and we were watching TV and Walter Cronkite came on and talked about missiles in Cuba and we were wondering what he was talking about,? Nichols Jr. said. ‘Here we were in the service and never heard about it.?
Soon, they were right in the middle of this historic event, when the United States and the Soviet Union were on the brink of waging a nuclear war.
He said they were awakened by superior officers to go write or update their wills.
‘My parents were divorced, so I left money with my father. That’s who I lived with most of my life,? he said.
At 2:30 a.m. they were awakened again. This time it was to change the torpedoes? dummy heads, which are used in practice drills, to warheads.
‘I wound up in the after torpedo room, unloading fish (or torpedoes as civilians called them),? he said. ‘The torpedoeman chief showed up at 3:30 a.m. I thought I was going to kiss his shoes. It’s quite a job (and) they are quite big to unload. We got them all out and then we (loaded) torpedoes with warheads.”
Nichols noted they also added extra explosives to the submarine in case they were captured by the enemy. This way they could blow up their ship.
‘Even back then there was gear we didn’t want the enemy to get,? he said.
After completing their task around 5:30 a.m., Nichols said he and the rest of the crew were gathered together and told about the Soviet Union’s placement of missiles in Cuba and that they were ‘atomic in nature.?
Word came they were about to embark on what was going to be a ‘suicide mission.?
‘We will not be coming back, but we will inflict as much (damage) as we can (on the enemy) per President Kennedy’s orders,? Nichols recalled his captain saying. ‘The Russians had a missile they could fire from a surface craft and then it would enter the water and become an acoustic torpedo. There was no way we could outrun it.?
Because they had just came back from patrol, much of the crew had gone home and they had just enough men to be able to command the submarine if there was an emergency.
‘I remember the first day out (at sea) they had divine services. I was Catholic and for us, (the priest) said the Rosary. We did have a suicide mission and figured we were going to meet our maker,? he said. ‘Thank God it ended the way it did because the way it was looking, not only the United States, but about the whole world would have been destroyed.?
Serving aboard the submarine was a voluntary assignment, but nobody asked to leave because they didn’t wish to abandon their shipmates, according to Nichols.
‘We were scared, obviously,? he said. ‘You would be a fool not to (be), but we realized by leaving, we would weaken the crew’s ability (to fight) and it was our country. To have (enemy) missiles this close to the United States and the thoughts of (them) killing everybody (was unacceptable.)?
After the Navy, Nichols entered into a tool and dye apprenticeship. He attended Wayne State University under the G.I. Bill and took night classes for 10 years. He earned a degree in engineering technology and worked for General Motors for 31 years.
These days, the 73-year-old enjoys painting and wood working, as well as spending time with his wife of 50 years, Nancy, along with their four children and five grandchildren.
Pondering his role in world history, Nichols said, ‘It’s been an interesting life.?