Veterans column: Newark's Nickells stuck behind enemy lines in Korea
Walter L. Nickells was born and raised in New Boston, Ohio, and moved to Newark in 1944. He was 18-years-old and had begun a job work at the Pharis Tire & Rubber Plant. He was living at 557 W. Main St., when on Sept. 16, 1944, he enlisted for the draft. He was inducted into the army in November of 1944, and served two years in Europe before returning to his job at Pharis in October 1946.
In 1948 the company and the union employees were at an impasse during contract disputes and the future of the tire business in Newark was in jeopardy. Nickells found himself to be without a job. According to an interview he did with the Newark Advocate on May 24, 2009, he couldn’t find work. ‘So, like a damned fool, I walked into the recruiter’s office, which was a big mistake.” Nickells said. “They talked me into going back into the service.” He was assigned to the 34th Infantry Regiment in the 24th Infantry Division and arrived in Korea in July 1950. They were the first unit sent to the country when North Korea began its invasion. When they arrived, they were forced south over the Kim River and established defensive positions at the city of Taejon, a major city in South Korea. They were to fight a delaying action and allow the completion of the Pusan perimeter.
On July 14, the North Koreans began moving against the American defenses at the Kum River. The Americans were pushed back the next few days to the city of Taejon. Nickells was with the 24th in the city. On July 26, 2003, in an article in the Newark Advocate, Nickells states he had warned his commanding officer that North Korean soldiers, disguised as civilians, were surrounding the town. It was also recorded that the North Korean soldiers, disguised as farmers had infiltrated the city.
On July 18, General Dean who was in charge of the defense of the city was ordered to hold it until July 20. The North Koreans attacked and entered the city on July 19 which resulted in ferocious house-to-house fighting as the men of the 24th Infantry desperately held on. On July 20th those of the 24th who were able were ordered to withdraw. The casualties for the 24th were reported as 1,128 killed, 228 wounded and 2,400 missing in action. Corporal Walter Nickells was one of those on the missing-in-action list.
Nickells recounted in the July 26 article what happened to him during that battle. “When the enemy overran his position, he hid under a porch. “That night the North Korean soldiers slept right on top of him. He had to urinate and used his empty canteen. He made no noise. The next day the North Korean soldiers haggled with the farmer next door to give them his chickens. Then to Nickells’s fear, the farmer locked eyes with him through the openings of the wooden slats of his picket fence. If he saw Nickell’s the farmer didn’t say a word. The second night he crept out starved and thirsty. The North Korean soldiers had left earlier that day. He knew he had to leave the area and walked all night along a river bank. He had snuck some water from a squeaky well but refused to drink from the river. ‘It was full of deadman anyway,’ he said.
Nickell’s was alive behind enemy lines and was evading the enemy but his days were numbered.
Doug Stout is the Veterans Project Coordinator for the Licking County Library. You may contact him at 740-349-5571 or dstout@lickingcountylibrary.org. His book "Never Forgotten: The Stories of Licking County Veterans" is available for purchase at the library or online at bookbaby.com & Amazon.com.
This article originally appeared on Newark Advocate: Veterans column: Newark's Nickells stuck behind enemy lines in Korea
