Master Sgt. Amos E. Nicholson USAAF - WWII



Amos Everette Nicholson, of Aurora, died Saturday, October 6, 2012. He was 95 years old. He was born November 25, 1916 in Sandwich, Illinois, to Charles and Elsie Nicholson. He moved to Aurora, Illinois, as a boy and remained a lifelong resident. Amos graduated from East Aurora High School in 1936, and began working with his father in the painting and decorating business. He enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Corps early in World War II and was trained as an aircraft mechanic and crew chief. He was stationed with the 343rd Squadron, 98th Bomb Group in North Africa and Italy, and worked as a B-24 Liberator Crew Chief, achieving the final rank of Master Sergeant. Amos's artistic talents were well known in his unit, and he was tasked with painting the nose art on a number of his squadron's bombers, including the images of the two, Snow White & the Seven Dwarfs, and the B-24D, Prince Charming. Just prior to his death, he co-authored a book of his exploits before and during World War II, entitled "Snow White Goes to War."



After an additional 2 year stint in Japan during the Korean Conflict, Amos returned to Aurora, where he continued as an independent painting/decorating contractor well into his 80's.



Survivors include two sons, Lynn Slawa, Kent Sue, and one grandson, Adam. He was preceded in death by his loving wife of 59 years and high school sweetheart, Rita Schramer Nicholson.



SSgt. Amos Nicholson was known as the "gruff and grumpy" but immensely talented painter and B-24 Crew Chief, in the 9th Air Force, and the 98th Bomb Group, who painted two versions on two different B-24D Liberator bombers, of identical nose art portraits for, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, 41-11913, and, 42-40655, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs - The Pink Elephant, one in the U.K. He also painted the B-24D, Prince Charming, and all of the "Seven Dwarfs" airplanes, including three versions of, Dopey, and the B-24D, Arkansas Traveler, based at Lete, Berca, and Benina Airbases in the Libyan desert at Benghazi, Libya, North Africa 1942-43. SSgt. Nicholson never signed any of his works and never got any public credit for his excellent and beautiful nose art work.



Awards: WWII Victory Medal - European African Middle Eastern Campaign Medal - Good Conduct - WWII Victory medal. - Contributors: Amos Nicholson & Charles Brummel (nephew).