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SPECIALIST
FOURTH CLASS RONALD WILLIAM NICKERSON was born on January
13, 1944, to Allan and Catherine Nickerson. His home of record is Camden, NJ. Ronald
graduated from Camden Catholic High School in 1963.
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Ronald
William Nickerson |
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MESSAGES
LEFT ON THEWALL-USA �Never Forget It has been 43 yrs since I led a relief effort into the jungle that day. I will never forget the site as we loaded you on the plane. You we never be forgotten. Rest in peace. James
Popwell *** I think of you often - your name on the wall touched me deeply When I was a Freshman at CCHS my big brother, Tim was a Senior as was Ronny. Tim always told me what a great guy Nickerson was. We had a half hour "club" period in the late afternoon once a week. Those who didn't want to do anything were herded together in classrooms to pass the time. I ended up sitting next to Ronny. He was very nice to me even though I was a geeky freshman. He was a regular guy even though he was handsome and popular. I admired him a good deal. He cut up and laughed and made the time pass quickly. That was 1962 and it is like it was yesterday. They announced Ronny's passing on the school intercom one afternoon in my senior year. It made me very sad and made me realize how serious Vietnam was and how tough life can be. Joe
McKim *** Ronny, Ronny - we both went to Nam I lived & you didn't. You died less than a month before I enlisted (with draft breathing down my neck). How many others from Camden Catholic High School's Class of '63 died in our generation's offshore war? I remember you pumping me for answers to Mr. McDowell's history tests during junior-year homeroom. You & Tommy Lattick & Micky Persiano. You've been dead for 34 years. . fd Francis
Duffy
*** RONNIE NICKERSON, IT HAS BEEN MANY YEARS SINCE HIGH SCHOOL AND I REMEMBER ALL THE GOOD TIMES WE HAD RIDING TOGETHER TO SCHOOL WITH TOMMY LADIK IN HIS CHEVELLE 4 SPEED. OH THOSE SIMPLE TIMES WE ALL TOOK FOR GRANTED. LITTLE DID WE KNOW IN FATHER JORDAN HISTORY CLASS WHEN HE SAID VIETNAM WOULD AFFECT ALL OUR LIVES- WE NEVER HEARD OF IT! I WAS DRAFTED A MONTH BEFORE YOU DIED SO VERY YOUNG. I WAS FORTUNATE I DID NOT GO TO VIETNAM, BUT MANY WENT LIKE YOU DID. I REMEMBER THE DAY YOU TOLD ME YOU PUSHED UP YOUR DRAFT SO YOU COULD GET IT OUT OF THE WAY, SO YOU COULD GO INTO BUSINESS WITH YOUR BROTHER ALLEN. WHO KNEW- LIKE THE QUOTE FROM THE YEARBOOK ABOUT THE CRYSTAL BALL, BUT IT WAS A DIFFERENT KIND OF BALL, CALLED A LAND MINE. SUCH A WASTE OF A YOUNG LIFE, NOT TO MENTION WHAT A GREAT GUY YOU WERE! YOU SIGNED MY YEARBOOK" DAN, BEST OF LUCK IN THE FUTURE AND I HOPE TO SEE YOU AROUND IVY LANES". WE NEVER SAW EACH OTHER IN IVY ANYMORE, AND EVERY REUNION I WISH YOU COULD BE THERE. I THINK ABOUT OFTEN, ESPECIALLY WHEN I SEE A MAN IN UNIFORM. YOU PROUDLY SERVED YOUR COUNTRY RON,AND YOU ARE A HERO IN MY EYES AND I'M SURE ALL OF OUR CLASSMATE! YOU FRIEND DAN D'ANDREA DAN
D'ANDREA *** Honolulu, HI Posting again to 1) update my email addy, and 2) in further remembrance of Ron Nickerson. Glad to see that another CCHS/class of 1963 alum, Dan D'Andrea , likewise posted in remembrance of Ron. "When we draft young men for a war, we reject the physically unfit, the mentally inferior and the morally deficient - leaving them home to reproduce the race while we send out the finest stock to be killed. This is called 'defending the future of the nation'." Last scene of the film, Rutger Hauer to the Blade Runner: I've seen things you people wouldn't believe. Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion. I've watched seabeams glitter in the dark near the Tenthauser Gate. All these moments will be lost, in time . . like tears in rain. Time to die . . Blade Runner: I don't know why he saved my life. Maybe in those last moments he loved life more than he ever had before. Not just his life. Anybody's life. My life. All he'd wanted were the same answers the rest of us had wanted : � Where did I come from? � Where am I going? � How long have I got? Frank Duffy |
