John W. Nicholson


John W. Nicholson is an American retired Brigadier General of the United States Army who was appointed secretary of the American Battle Monuments Commission by President George W. Bush in January 2005.

Biography

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.
He is a 1956 graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York, where he received the General MacArthur Leadership Award for his class, and holds a master's degree in public administration. 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 U.S. Army general in charge of the Resolute Support Mission in Afghanistan for more than 2 years.

Awards and decorations