Leslie Robinson Nicholas Sr. (June 21, 1902 – December 17, 1948) was an executive for The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America and president of the Nicholas Realty Company. Nicholas was a

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

major of an

anti-aircraft Anti-aircraft warfare (AAW) is the counter to aerial warfare and includes "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It encompasses surface-based, subsurface ( submarine-launched), and air-ba ...

unit in the

Pacific War The Pacific War, sometimes called the Asia–Pacific War or the Pacific Theatre, was the Theater (warfare), theatre of World War II fought between the Empire of Japan and the Allies of World War II, Allies in East Asia, East and Southeast As ...

and was one of the most decorated Pacific War veterans from

Wayne County, Georgia Wayne County is a county located in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 30,144. The county seat is Jesup. Wayne County comprises the Jesup, Georgia micropolitan statistical area. ...

Early life and career

Leslie "Nick" Nicholas was born on June 21, 1902, in Dales Mill,

, as the only child of Eva Melissa Robinson (1876-1975) and Alexander Stephens Nicholas (1862-1938). His father Alex was one of eight siblings born in 1862 during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

to farmer James Hamilton Nicholas (1832-1910) the son of Jonathan Nicholas Jr.

Anne Nichols Anne Nichols (November 26, 1891 – September 15, 1966) was an American playwright best known as the author of ''Abie's Irish Rose''. Biography Anne Nichols was born in obscure Dales Mill, in Wayne County, Georgia, Wayne County, Georgia (U.S. s ...

, also born in Dales Mill, is the granddaughter of James and cousin of Leslie. His maternal grandfather James Robinson was a pioneer of

Volusia County, Florida Volusia County (, ) is a county located in the east-central part of the U.S. state of Florida between the St. Johns River and the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2020 census, the county was home to 553,543 people, an increase of 11.9% from the 2 ...

, working in real estate, mercantile and agriculture. Nicholas' middle name comes from James Robinson. Nicholas in his youth lived in Waycross, Screven,

Jacksonville Jacksonville ( ) is the most populous city proper in the U.S. state of Florida, located on the Atlantic coast of North Florida, northeastern Florida. It is the county seat of Duval County, Florida, Duval County, with which the City of Jacksonv ...

and White Springs because of his father's profession as a merchant. His father had also attended a military academy in the 1880s which later influenced Nicholas' intentions on attending Gordon College a military school in

Barnesville, Georgia Barnesville is a city in Lamar County, Georgia, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 6,755, up from 5,972 at the 2000 census. The city is the county seat of Lamar County and is just outside of the Atlanta metropol ...

. In his youth and throughout his life Nicholas went by the nickname Nick. In 1930 Alex moved to Seville, Florida, where he had a naval store called A.S. Nicholas Company. In 1919 Nicholas enrolled at

Georgia Institute of Technology The Georgia Institute of Technology (commonly referred to as Georgia Tech, GT, and simply Tech or the Institute) is a public university, public research university and Institute of technology (United States), institute of technology in Atlanta, ...

where he joined the

Alpha Kappa Psi Alpha Kappa Psi (, often stylized as AKPsi) is the oldest and largest business Professional fraternities and sororities, fraternity. The fraternity was founded in 1904 at New York University. It is headquartered in Noblesville, Indiana. Histor ...

Sigma Phi Epsilon Sigma Phi Epsilon (), commonly known as SigEp, is a social college Fraternities and sororities, fraternity for male college students in the United States. It was founded on November 1, 1901, at Richmond College, which is now the University of ...

and

Phi Kappa Phi The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi (or simply Phi Kappa Phi or ) is an honor society established in 1897 to recognize and encourage superior scholarship without restriction as to the area of study, and to promote the "unity and democracy of educa ...

fraternities A fraternity (; whence, " brotherhood") or fraternal organization is an organization, society, club or fraternal order traditionally of men but also women associated together for various religious or secular aims. Fraternity in the Western conce ...

. While at Georgia Tech he was captain of the

Reserve Officers' Training Corps The Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC; or ) is a group of college- and university-based officer-training programs for training commissioned officers of the United States Armed Forces. While ROTC graduate officers serve in all branches o ...

in Company D, Glee Club Pianist, an associate editor of the Georgia Tech yearbook and made the honor roll every year. Nicholas graduated in 1922 with a Bachelor of Science in commerce.

Insurance and real estate

On November 14, 1923, Nicholas married Sybil Williams in

Bulloch County, Georgia Bulloch County is a county located in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 81,099, up from 70,217 in 2010.US 2020 Census Bureau report, Bulloch County, Georgia The county seat is Stat ...

, and then relocated to

Tampa, Florida Tampa ( ) is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. Tampa's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and t ...

. Nicholas pursued a career in real estate called Nicholas Realty Company as president of the company. The Nicholas Realty Company assisted customers with purchasing real estate. The company also owned several properties and would lease them to customers. In 1926 Nicholas leased the Henry-Knight building to Frank Sullivan of Savannah for $100,000. Nicholas was a member of the Tampa Junior Chamber of Commerce being an occasional speaker. Nicholas left the Nicholas Realty Company in the early 1930s to pursue a career in insurance with The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America. Nicholas first joined Guardian Life as a supervisor. In July 1932 Nicholas went to

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

for an insurance convention to represent Guardian Life Insurance. On May 10, 1936, Nicholas participated in Governor Sholtz's proclamation signing declaring May 11–16 life insurance week. Nicholas moved to

Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville ( ) is the most populous city proper in the U.S. state of Florida, located on the Atlantic coast of North Florida, northeastern Florida. It is the county seat of Duval County, Florida, Duval County, with which the City of Jacksonv ...

, ten years later where he continued to work for Guardian Life Insurance at the Barnett National Bank Building. Nicholas had a second son in 1937 but died one day later after he was born. In 1938 his father Alex died from complications of cancer in

Military career

In 1917 Nicholas enrolled in Gordon College where he first began training in the military. At Gordon College he was president of the Florida club, president of the Happy Four Club, and secretary and treasurer of the Florida club. Nicholas' rank at Gordon College was First Sergeant of Company B from 1918 to 1919 and then Lieutenant in 1919. Nicholas graduated from Gordon College in 1919. Because Nicholas was 16 years old when he first attended Gordon College he did not have to register for service in

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

due to not meeting the age requirement of 18 years old. Nicholas enlisted in the

United States Army Reserve The United States Army Reserve (USAR) is a Military reserve force, reserve force of the United States Army. Together, the Army Reserve and the Army National Guard constitute the Army element of the reserve components of the United States Armed ...

beginning in the early 1920s while pursuing a career in real estate and then insurance. Nicholas was ranked Lt. in the C.A.C. artillery group and regularly gave speeches to fellow active duty reserve members.

World War II

On February 14, 1942, Nicholas registered for military service as part of the

Selective Training and Service Act of 1940 The Selective Training and Service Act of 1940, also known as the Burke–Wadsworth Act, , was the first peacetime conscription in United States history. This Selective Service Act required that men who had reached their 21st birthday ...

at 39 years old. Nicholas entered active duty on July 20, 1942, and was transferred to

Camp Blanding Camp Blanding Joint Training Center is the primary military reservation and training base for the Florida National Guard, both the Florida Army National Guard and certain nonflying activities of the Florida Air National Guard. The installation ...

where he became a major of the 117th AAA Group. After serving time at Camp Blanding Major Nicholas was transferred to

Camp Stoneman Camp Stoneman was a United States Army facility located in Pittsburg, California. It served as a major troop staging area for and under the command of the San Francisco Port of Embarkation (SFPOE). The camp operated during World War II and the K ...

and then to the Pacific to take part in the

where he was in the

United States Army Coast Artillery Corps The U.S. Army Coast Artillery Corps (CAC) was an administrative corps responsible for coastal, harbor, and anti-aircraft defense of the United States and its possessions between 1901 and 1950. The CAC also operated heavy and railway artiller ...

. During the six month

Guadalcanal Campaign The Guadalcanal campaign, also known as the Battle of Guadalcanal and codenamed Operation Watchtower by the United States, was an Allies of World War II, Allied offensive against forces of the Empire of Japan in the Solomon Islands during th ...

Major Nicholas commanded the 117th AAA Group. Artillery groups such as Nicholas' helped ensure an American victory at Guadalcanal where over 8,000

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

were killed during the campaign. After Guadalcanal Nicholas and the 117th joined the Bougainville campaign,

Battle of Leyte The Battle of Leyte (; ; ) in the Pacific campaign of World War II was the amphibious invasion of the island of Leyte in the Philippines by American forces and Filipino guerrillas under the overall command of General Douglas MacArthur, who fou ...

, and the

Battle for Cebu City The Battle for Cebu City (Filipino language, Filipino: ''Labanan sa Lungsod ng Cebu''; Cebuano language, Cebuano: ''Gubat sa Dakbayan sa Sugbo''; Japanese language, Japanese: セブシティーのための戦い) was a major engagement of World W ...

. While Nicholas was in the South Pacific he was wounded at an undisclosed location and later received the

Purple Heart The Purple Heart (PH) is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the president to those wounded or killed while serving, on or after 5 April 1917, with the U.S. military. With its forerunner, the Badge of Military Merit, ...

. On July 30, 1944, Nicholas' wife Sybil died while he was in the South Pacific. His son Leslie Jr. was forced to go to Riverside Military Academy while his father was in the South Pacific. After the academy, Leslie Jr. served in the

United States Merchant Marine The United States Merchant Marine is an organization composed of United States civilian sailor, mariners and U.S. civilian and federally owned merchant vessels. Both the civilian mariners and the merchant vessels are managed by a combination of ...

Cadet Corps for two years as a cadet midshipman. Major Nicholas returned from the war on November 21, 1945, at Camp Blanding.

Later life and death

Nicholas returned to his career in insurance as agency secretary after the war in

. He became the director of the Jacksonville Lions Club and the YMCA. Nicholas met Louise Knight in Jacksonville and they married in 1947. In February 1946 Leslie was given a discharge from the United States Army after serving 20 years. In December 1946 the board of directors at Guardian Life Insurance appointed him as an officer at the home office in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. Nicholas directed Guardian Life's field training division to help select candidates for manager positions. In 1947 Nicholas was diagnosed with cancer and gradually declined in health. He most likely developed the previously undiagnosed cancer while serving in the Pacific. In 1948 Nicholas had a son named after his father Alexander Stephens "Alex" Nicholas in

. In that same year on December 17, 1948, Nicholas died at 46 years old in

Port Chester, New York Port Chester is a administrative divisions of New York#Village, village in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York and the largest part of the town of Rye (town), New York, Rye in Westchester County, New York, Westchester County by populati ...

. Nicholas was interred at

Arlington National Cemetery Arlington National Cemetery is the largest cemetery in the United States National Cemetery System, one of two maintained by the United States Army. More than 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington County, Virginia. ...

for his service in the Pacific War.

Published works

Nicholas, L.R. (April 30, 1927) ''"Now" - is the answer to the Salaried Man's Question - "When?"'' The Tampa Tribune.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nicholas, Leslie R. 1902 births 1948 deaths Georgia Tech alumni Military personnel from Georgia (U.S. state) American businesspeople in insurance Businesspeople from Georgia (U.S. state) 20th-century American businesspeople American real estate brokers Gordon State College alumni Businesspeople from Tampa, Florida Military personnel from Jacksonville, Florida Businesspeople from Jacksonville, Florida American business executives United States Army officers United States Army personnel of World War II Burials at Arlington National Cemetery Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United States)