Troy, Rensselaer County, New York, United States, North and Central America / 1942-1945
Lensatic military field compass and pouch owned by Lt. Vernon O. Nicolls
Lensatic military field compass and pouch owned by Lt. Vernon O. Nicolls
The Smithsonian catalogs Lensatic military field compass and pouch owned by Lt. Vernon O. Nicolls as compasses (direction indicators) in its African American records.
WHY IT’S INTERESTING
Vernon Nicolls was born in Barbados in 1909 and immigrated to the U.S. in 1915. During World War II, while living in Brooklyn, Nicolls enlisted as a Private in the Army at Fort Jay on Governor's Island, New York, in 1942. After graduating from Officer Candidate School, Lieutenant Nicolls served in Italy with the 758th Tank Battalion, the Army's first African American armored unit. He used this com