John B. Nichols

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John Bennett Nichols, III (September 28, 1931-June 17, 2004) was a U.S. Navy aviator and author.

Raised in West Palm Beach, Florida, Nichols enlisted in the army and served as a combat medic during the Korean War. After attending college he was accepted for NavCad training and commissioned in 1957. Originally he flew the North American FJ-4 Fury but shortly thereafter was mated with the Vought F-8 Crusader, the aircraft that defined his professional career.

Nichols joined Fighter Squadron 62 (VF-62) and adopted the callsign "Pirate." He also became a landing signal officer as well as a flight and tactics instructor. In the latter capacity he was one of the founding members of the Naval Fighter Weapons School that evolved into "Topgun."

During the Vietnam conflict Nichols made three Tonkin Gulf deployments between 1967 and 1973, flying from the carriers USS Ticonderoga (CVA-14) and USS Hancock (CVA-19).

On his first combat deployment, assigned to VF-191, Nichols was wingman to Lieutenant Commander Michael Estocin, who received a posthumous Medal of Honor for actions in April 1967. On the following deployment Nichols destroyed one of two North Viatnamese MiG-17s that were attacking an RF-8 reconnaissance plane. He later commanded VF-24 during the closing days of the conflict in 1973. At the end of his naval career he was one of only five pilots to log over 3,000 hours in the demanding Crusader.

Upon retirement in 1975, Nichols entered the real estate business in Southern California. An avid reader, he also wrote occasionally, leading to two books. The first was a combination memoir and analysis titled "On Yankee Station" (1987). "Warriors," a novel about a Mideast air war, was released shortly before Operation Desert Storm in 1990. Both were written with his friend Barrett Tillman.

"On Yankee Station" was well received in military aviation circles, being added to the Air Force and Marine Corps professional reading lists. Ironically, it was not selected for a Navy readership though at least one carrier air wing took copies to Operation Desert Storm in 1990-91.

Nichols returned to his native Florida and settled in Melbourne with his beloved wife Jacqueline. There he died of cancer at age 72, survived by three children of a previous marriage, his wife, and two step daughters.