Lewis Nixon
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- This article is about the WW II U.S. Army officer in the 101st Airborne Division. For the naval architect and political activist, see Lewis Nixon (naval architect)
Lewis Nixon (September 30, 1918 - January 11, 1996) was a United States Army officer in the 101st Airborne, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 2nd Battalion, Easy Company. Lewis Nixon was portrayed by Ron Livingston in the HBO/BBC production Band of Brothers.
Early life
Born into a wealthy family, Nixon graduated from Yale University and traveled the world extensively as a youth. In 1941, Nixon and Richard Winters made the decision to join the paratroops.World War II
Nixon started out as a private, and went through Officer Candidate School, and emerged as a Second Lieutenant. He was then assigned to Easy Company of the 506th PIR. Nixon and Winters were put through basic training at Camp Toccoa, Georgia and eventually trained at many locations throughout the U.S. and England for the invasion of France.Nixon was promoted to intelligence officer (S-2) at the battalion level, and would show enough skill at his job to be promoted to regiment level. He was later promoted to intelligence officer at the regimental level shortly after Easy Company took Carentan on 12 June, 1944. He served in Normandy, the Netherlands, Bastogne, and Germany, though he never fired a shot. He developed a drinking problem, and was eventually demoted back down to battalion intelligence officer. In Berchtesgaden, he had first choice of an extensive wine collection at Hermann Goering's expense.
Nixon was one of the few 101st Airborne men to have jumped with another division or regiment. On 24 March, 1945, Nixon was assigned by General Maxwell Taylor as an observer with the 17th Airborne Division on Operation Varsity. Nixon's plane took a direct hit as soon as he and three others got out of the plane.
He survived the war, ending it with the rank of Captain. He saw the defeat of Germany, and returned home.
After the war
After the war, Lewis had some tough times. He was divorced a couple of times, and finally met his final wife Grace, and everything fell into place. He gave up drinking, and led a good life until he died in 1996 of natural causes (Band of Brothers incorrectly states that he died in 1995).Lewis took back his job at Nixon Nitration Works in Nixon, New Jersey alongside his wartime pal Richard Winters.
Nixon, New Jersey is now a section of Edison Township; it is located in Middlesex County, NJ. The former site of the Nixon Nitration Works lies beneath Middlesex Community College and Raritan Center Industrial Park.
References
- Band of Brothers: E Company, 506th Regiment, 101st Airborne from Normandy to Hitler's Eagle's Nest, Stephen Ambrose, Simon & Schuster, 1992. ISBN 0743464117
- Band of Brothers miniseries
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