Louis M. Nicholson.
Of Greenville, Mississippi, MS.
The Man Behind the Name
2nd Lt. Louis M. Nicholson served as bombardier aboard aircraft 41-24121 during the August 1, 1943 Ploesti mission. He had completed 12 missions. His next of kin was his mother, Mrs. Frank P. Flanagan, of 257 South Main Street, Greenville, Mississippi.
Nicholson did not bail out and was killed in the mid-air collision over Bulgaria. He was positioned in the nose section when the aircraft struck the ground. S/Sgt. Koen, who survived and filed E&E Report No. 2451, reported him dead, and seven crew members were buried following the crash.
His casualty questionnaire stated he was 'probably killed or involved in mid-air collision.' His name appears as 'Richalcon' and 'Dickinson' in OCR-corrupted pages; the correct name Nicholson and serial O-732649 are consistent across the primary documents. He was killed in action on 1 August 1943.
Service record.
Missions flown.
The missions below are those we have been able to document for this airman, drawn from flight logs, mission records, and archival sources. It is not necessarily a complete account of every mission flown; gaps may reflect missing documentation, transferred assignments, or records lost to time.