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The Etobon Project

The Etobon blog

This blog is written as a chronological narrative.The most recent posts are found at the end of the journal.

The graves of some of those who died September 27, 1944

The Etobon blog contains portions of my translation of Ceux d'Etobon, by Jules Perret and Benjamin Valloton. Perret was an witness to a Nazi atrocity committed in the closing months of World War II in the village of Etobon, France. Perret's son, brother-in-law and son-in-law to be were victims of the massacre.

sikhchic.com has posted an article in which I've given the basic facts of the story of Etobon. Please visit the site and see other stories related to World War II prisoners of war.

You can find post links, most recent first, on the right side of each page.

 

 

Entries in WWII POW (1)

Monday
Sep182017

Searching for a Former POW - James Melvin Nichols

The ripples from a stone dropped in the water keep expanding...I recently arranged a visit to Etobon for a British historian, who sent me a picture of a military bracelet from an American soldier. The bracelet is in the possession of one of the Etobon families who helped hide escaped POWs (see the Etobon Project journal for more background). The bracelet had his name and serial number engraved plainly on its central link. A bit of research uncovered the fact that James Melvin Nichols enlisted in Texas, that he was captured in the North Africa/Italy theater, imprisoned (probably) in Epinal, France by the Germans, escaped and was hidden at Etobon, then was recaptured by the Germans and imprisoned in Germany and returned to the American military at the end of World War II.

What happened to James Melvin Nichols after that? Did he return to Texas? Marry and have children? Are there children or grandchildren searching for information about him? If so, I'm posting this photo in the hope that they will find it.