Prior to this appointment, he served as Under Secretary for Memorial Affairs in the
Department of Veterans Affairs, where he directed the
National Cemetery Administration. Born and raised in
Iowa, He is an airborne ranger combat infantryman and served two and one-half years with infantry units in Vietnam. Other overseas assignments during his 30-year Army career included duty in Germany, Korea, Lebanon and Switzerland. Recommended for a
Silver Star for action in Vietnam, the award was approved in 2009. He currently serves on the board of advisors of the
Code of Support Foundation, a nonprofit military service organization. He is the brother of
Jim Nicholson, a former
Secretary of Veterans Affairs and Chair of the Republican National Committee. His son
John W. Nicholson Jr. is a 1982 graduate of West Point and was the U.S. Army
general in charge of the
Resolute Support Mission in Afghanistan for more than 2 years. Nicholson Sr. and his wife Sophie have five children and thirteen grandchildren. ==Silver Star action==