 |
MEMORIAL ARTICLE
Published Assembly Jan '91
Wayne Stanley Nichols No.15394 Class of 1946
Died 6 March 1984 in Lauderhill, Florida, aged 61 years. Interment:
Union Cemetery, Columbus, Ohio |
Wayne Stanley Nichols was born 23 June 1922 in
Des Moines, Iowa. He grew up in a small farming community in
the heart of the "Corn Belt"--West Liberty, Iowa. As
a youngster, Wayne was industrious. At one time he had a milk
route, traveling with his wagon to a dairy farm at the edge of
town to get the milk in half-gallon cans for delivery to his
customers. He exhibited early his tremendous sense of humor.
Wayne had always wanted to go to West Point, but this ambition
was solidified by a friend, Sam Koster USMA 42, who lived within
two blocks of Wayne when they were growing up. When Sam came
home from leave in his uniform and talked to Wayne about West
Point, Wayne became convinced that the Army was the right career
for him. Following graduation from West Liberty High School Wayne
attended Grinnell College, Grinnell, Iowa for two-and-one-half
years. Wayne spent six months in the Army Air Corps before entering
West Point on 1 July 1943, a member of the Class of 1946.
Wayne's maturity, intelligence and affable personality
made life at West Point a relative breeze. He had the capability
to do what was needed and the will to get things done when the
going got tough. He spent many hours using his intellectual gifts
to help his less gifted classmates. As manager of both the outdoor
and indoor track teams, Wayne earned two major "A's."
He was always anxious to make it easier for his teammates to
compete at their best. Wayne was quick to find viable options
when crises arose. In early plebe days, a classmate couldn't
find his black tie and it was time for a formation. Wayne dressed
the classmate with a black sock for a tie and sent him to the
formation. When graduation rolled around, Wayne became a second
lieutenant in the Corps of Engineers.
During graduation leave, Wayne married Henrietta
Hayson on 21 July 1946 in Iowa City, Iowa. Wayne and Henrietta
had met at Grinnell College before Wayne entered West Point.
Following the Engineer Basic Officers Course at Fort Belvoir,
Virginia, Wayne and Henrietta spent two-and-a-half years in the
Far East where Wayne was assistant Air Installations Officer
of the 35th Installations Squadron. Returning to CONUS, Wayne
was assigned to Fort Hood, Texas with the 17th and 16th Armored
Engineer Battalions. From Fort Hood, the Nichols moved to Illinois
where Wayne earned a master's degree in civil engineering at
the University of Illinois. Next came another school tour at
Fort Belvoir, Virginia, followed by a tour in Korea, first as
a headquarters staff officer and then as a company commander
in an engineer construction battalion. In 1955 Wayne was assigned
as an engineer instructor at the University of Iowa. From Iowa,
the Nichols moved to Paris, France where Wayne served for three
years with the American Battle Monuments Commission. Upon his
return to the States, Wayne attended the Command and General
Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. His next assignment
was to the Pentagon as an Army personnel management officer.
From Washington, Wayne went to Thailand to become battalion commander
of an engineer battalion. In 1965 Wayne was assigned as District
Engineer, U, S. Lake Survey in Detroit, Michigan. Next came attendance
at the National War College in Washington, DC.
Wayne was named District Engineer, Pittsburgh District
in 1967. June 1970 saw Wayne assume command of the 34th Engineer
Group in South Vietnam. Promoted to brigadier general while in
Vietnam, Wayne was reassigned as Director of Construction for
the US Army in Vietnam. In 1971, Wayne returned to the Pentagon
to become Director of Engineering and Topographer of the Army
in the Office of the Chief of Engineers. From 1973-75, Wayne
was Division Engineer, Ohio River Division.
His assignment as Ohio River Division Engineer
was to have a marked effect on Wayne's future. He thoroughly
understood the importance of the civil works mission of the Corps
of Engineers. Wayne was tireless in his efforts to present the
positive aspects of his mission in an atmosphere where the environmental
movement was painting the Corps of Engineers as villains. He
became a master of the politics of his job. He received the Distinguished
Service Medal for his work as Ohio River Division Engineer.
In 1975 Wayne decided to retire to accept a position
in the Ohio Department of Natural Resources. With his great energy,
drive, resourcefulness and leadership, Wayne soon established
himself as a key member of the natural resources team. In early
1979, he was named deputy director. In 1981, Governor Rhodes
of Ohio appointed Wayne as director of the Department of Energy
for the state of Ohio. He served in that capacity for several
months, when Governor Rhodes decided that Wayne was the man to
take the difficult and highly visible leadership role of director
of the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency. He remained as the
director of OEPA for the remainder of the Rhodes Administration,
until January 1983, when he finally retired from public service.
He was highly respected by the environmental community as well
as by industry. Many of the staff of QEPA commented that Wayne
was the finest director they had ever seen.
Wayne made an impressive and lasting impact on
Ohio from a natural resource and environmental perspective in
the years he served there. Notably, he was able to bring strong
industrial activities and environmental concern together in such
sensitive areas as oil and gas drilling, and mining and reclamation.
He gave leadership to new programs in Ohio's Department of Energy
and helped develop alternate sources of energy to serve both
domestic and industrial needs in Ohio. Wayne became a dynamic
and professionally sensitive environmental proponent, endearing
himself to his staff and the many public agencies which he served.
Wayne was a regular guest lecturer in the School of Natural Resources
at Ohio State University. He co-authored a book with Sherman
L. Frost entitled Ohio Water Firsts. The book was published after
his death.
Wayne received many offers for post-government
employment, but he really relished the thought of retirement.
He loved to fish and looked forward to spending measurable amounts
of time on his hobby. He and Henrietta had purchased a condominium
in Florida and they planned to move there. Wayne's idea of retired
life was to sit on the beach and surf fish. In early March 1984,
Wayne and Henrietta were staying at their condominium. On Tuesday,
6 March they were driving about a mile from the condo when a
dump truck struck their car broadside. Wayne was killed and Henrietta
seriously injured. Wayne was survived by his wife, son, Jay,
and daughter, Carol.
Wayne Nichols had a lasting impact on everyone
who came in contact with him. He approached everything he did
in such an enthusiastic and positive manner that everyone was
infected with his zest for life and desire for accomplishment.
He gave sparkle to life and to all associated with him. He had
so many outstanding attributes that his friends are hard-pressed
to find those that stood out more than others. One friend who
followed Wayne from the Army to civilian life in Ohio recalls
Wayne as one of the finest officers and gentlemen with whom he
had been associated in his entire life. An associate from the
environmental field recalls that Wayne's success in the environmental
field evolved from his ability to bring out the strength and
goodness in people while at the same time subordinating their
weaknesses.
In recognition of Wayne's leadership in natural
resources management in Ohio, he was inducted in 1984, posthumously,
into the Ohio Department of Natural Resources Conservation Hall
of Fame. Also in recognition of his work, the Wayne S. Nichols
Memorial Fund was established at Ohio State University to perpetuate
the work and name of Wayne Nichols through activities such as
lectures on issues of importance in natural resources management.
The following description of Wayne and his accomplishments accompanied
the announcement of one of the 1989 Wayne S Nichols Memorial
Fund Lectures:
"Wayne S. Nichols was a caring, dedicated individual who
expressed his concern for others through an outstanding record
of public service. He devoted much of his professional life to
the protection of the environment, especially water resources.
Throughout more than thirty-five years of public service, his
foresight and uncompromising dedication to natural resource preservation
made Wayne Nichols one of America's most respected environmental
leaders."
Wayne Stanley Nichols, after an illustrious career,
has joined the Long Gray Line. The world will remember him as
a great environmentalist. His family, friends and classmates
will remember him as more than that-a true son of West Point
to whom Duty, Honor, Country were not only words but the guiding
principles upon which he based his life. The Class of 1946 is
proud to hail Wayne Nichols as one of its own!
'46 Memoria1 Article Project and his wife Henrietta
|