Gazette Editor Jane Lopes Writes: "Just Desserts For A Fallen Hero"

.........THIS WEEK IN MIDDLEBORO by Jane Lopes, Editor Middleboro Gazette, January 19, 2012

…………..He was a genuine hero by all accounts. Sgt. Simeon L. Nickerson, for whom the Middleboro American Legion post was named, was serving with the 101st Infantry Regiment, 26th Division, near Epieds, France on July 23, 1918 when he and two fellow soldiers lost their lives in order to save those of the comrades.

……………The 25-year-old Rochester native and the other soldiers, Cpl. Michael J. O'Connell and Pvt. Thomas A. Ryan, were posthumously awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for their heroism. The three reportedly crossed an open field in front of their company in an effort to locate enemy machine guns.

……………All three were shot and killed, but their action saved the lives of the rest of their company. It was reported that in firing on the three soldiers the German gunners revealed their position and the enemy detachment was subsequently taken out.

……………Bob Lessard, one of the Legion post members who has been re-searching the service record of Sgt. Nickerson, said he and his fellow post members are proud of the man for whom their unit is named —so proud that they believe he deserved the greatest honor the nation has to bestow on fallen heroes: the Congressional Medal of Honor.

…………..The Legion has enlisted the assistance of Sen. Scott Brown in this effort. Mr. Lessard said he believes the Medal of Honor would have been issued to the three soldiers under normal circumstances.

……………But in 1917, the year before Sgt. Nickerson and his comrades were killed, it had been determined that so many Medal of Honor awards had been made over the years that the award was losing its luster, and 911 awards were revoked.

……………Perhaps as a result, the Distinguished Service Cross award was created in 1918, just two weeks prior to Simeon Nickerson's heroic action.

……………Only two Medal of Honor awards were issued to members of the 26th Division during World War I, and local Legion members question whether this was the result of a political decision rather than an indication of the relative valor of the soldiers' actions.

……………General John Pershing, commander in chief of the American Expeditionary Force during World War I, awarded more than 35 Distinguished Service Crosses between July 9 and Sept. 25 of 1918, the majority going to members of the 26th Division headed by Gen. Clarence Edwards, whom Pershing disliked, according to a New York Times article from that year.

……………..Middleboro Legion members question whether this political situation, the combination of the Medal of Honor "purge" and the relationship between generals, robbed their post's namesake of the honor he deserved.

…………….."Maybe it's a long shot after all this time, but we're hoping to get the award upgraded," Mr. Lessard said. The effort is a long shot in part because no one alive today was present to witness Sgt. Nickerson's heroism.

……………..But there are local residents like Walter Campbell who remember hearing the story. Mr. Campbell's father served with Sgt. Nickerson and told his son the story, Mr. Campbell relates in a statement written to support the Legion post's request.

………………"I remember him telling me how Nickerson had volunteered and my father shook his hand before he went over the top {meaning he climbed out of the trench) to draw enemy fire," Mr. Campbell wrote.

………………Sen. Brown's office has written to the Department of Veterans Affairs looking for information on Sgt. Nickerson's service record and on the battle at Epeids, which would help make the case for the up-grade. Mr. Lessard said local residents can also help if, like Mr. Campbell, they remember hearing about the young sergeant's heroism or have letters from men who served with him or other information.

……………….Anyone who has helpful information can share it with Veterans Services Officer Paul Provencher at 508-946-2407.