Lewis Nixon (U.S. Army officer)

Infobox Military Person
name=Lewis Nixon
rank=Captain
unit=Easy Company, 2nd Battalion, 101st Airborne Division, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment
family=Grace (wife)
nickname=Lew, Nix
branch=United States Army
allegiance=United States of America
born= birth date|1918|09|30
died= death date and age|1995|01|11|1918|09|30
placeofbirth=New York City, New York
enteredservice=Fort Benning, Georgia
currentlyresides=
serviceyears=1941-1945
portrayedby=Ron Livingston in "Band of Brothers"
laterwork=
awards=Bronze Star (2)

Lewis Nixon (September 30, 1918 - January 11, 1995) was a United States Army officer in Easy Company, 2nd Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division. Nixon was portrayed by Ron Livingston in the HBO/BBC television miniseries "Band of Brothers".

Early life

Lewis Nixon was born to Stanhope Wood Nixon and Doris Ryer Nixon on September 30 1918 in New York City. He was the older brother of Blanche Nixon (born 1923) and Fletcher Ryer Nixon (who died in infancy in 1922). ["Died," New York Times, 1922-05-23.] He was a grandson of shipbuilder Lewis Nixon (1861-1940) and Sally Wood Nixon (died 1937). At age seven, Lewis took third place in the model yacht regatta at Conservatory Lake in Central Park on May 22 1926, earning a gold and bronze medal in the convert|35|in|mm|sing=on boat class. ['Young Nixon Wins Yachting Honors," New York Times, 1926-05-23 at 16.] As a youth, Nixon lived in New York City and Montecito, California; he traveled the world extensively, including Germany, France, and England. Nixon attended Yale University for two years.

He enlisted in the army on January 14 1941. On December 20, 1941, he married Katharine Page of Phoenix, Arizona. ["Katharine Page's Marriage," New York Times, 1941-12-21.]

World War II

After graduating from Army Officer Candidate School in 1941 as a second lieutenant, Nixon made the decision to join the paratroops. He was assigned to Easy Company of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment. Nixon went through the regimental unit training and pre-airborne training at Camp Toccoa, Georgia, and Airborne School at Fort Benning, Georgia, eventually training at many locations throughout the United States and England for the invasion of France.

Nixon was appointed as the 2nd Battalion intelligence officer, and showed enough skill at his job to be moved up to the regimental level as 506th Infantry S2, shortly after Easy Company took Carentan on June 12, 1944. He served in Normandy, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Germany, though he never fired a shot. However, in Holland he was hit by a stray bullet from a German MG-42 machine gun. The bullet went through Nixon's helmet but did not kill him. It only grazed his forehead and left a small burn mark. He developed a drinking problem, and was eventually removed and assigned back down to the 2nd Battalion as the operations officer (S3), where he continued to display his skill at planning and operations, but did not have to deal with the politics and high visibility at the regimental level. In Berchtesgaden, he had first choice of a captured, extensive wine collection originally assembled at Hermann Goering's expense.

Nixon was one of the few men of the 101st Airborne to jump with another division or regiment. On March 24 1945, Nixon was assigned by General Maxwell Taylor as an observer with the 17th Airborne Division on Operation Varsity. Nixon's plane took a direct hit after he and three others got out. He is also one of a very few men in the 101st to earn three Combat Jump Stars on his Jump Wings.

He ended the war with the rank of captain. He saw the defeat of Germany, and returned home in September 1945.

He is known and remembered for his love of the blended whiskey VAT 69. This is commemorated several times in the book and miniseries "Band of Brothers" by Stephen Ambrose. Lewis Nixon was also remember as always having a source of whiskey no matter where the company was.

After the war

After the war, Nixon worked at the family-owned Nixon Nitration Works in Nixon, New Jersey alongside his father, Stanhope. Stanhope had his share of vices as well. Wartime friend Richard Winters was offered a job by Nixon and eventually became a personnel manager at the firm. After World War II, the plastics industry evolved from nitrate-based products to acetate-based products, and the company failed to make the transition. In 1951, as the company downsized, it gave 48 acres of land, and a dam, to New Brunswick.

Nixon had two failed marriages before marrying his last wife, Grace, in 1956. He got his life back together and overcame his alcoholism during this marriage.

Lewis Nixon died of complications from diabetes in Los Angeles, California, on January 11 1995.

Nixon, New Jersey, is now a section of Edison Township; it is located in Middlesex County, New Jersey. The former site of the Nixon Nitration Works lies beneath Middlesex County College and Raritan Center Industrial Park.

Medals and decorations

*Bronze Star with one Oak Leaf Cluster
*American Defense Service Medal
*European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with 3 service stars and arrow device
*World War II Victory Medal
*Army of Occupation Medal
*Presidential Unit Citation with one Oak Leaf Cluster
* Parachutist Badge with 3 combat jump stars
*Combat Infantryman Badge
*Orange Lanyard of the Royal Netherlands Army

References

*"Band of Brothers: E Company, 506th Regiment, 101st Airborne from Normandy to Hitler's Eagle's Nest", Stephen Ambrose, Simon & Schuster, 1992. ISBN 0-7434-6411-7
*"Band of Brothers" miniseries