Eddy Nicklaus was deployed to South Vietnam in the same unit as his identical twin brother Teddy in 1965. Eddy served as his platoon’s radioman. In 1982, the brothers joined the local Illinois National Guard unit and in 1990 that unit was mobilized during the build-up of Desert Shield/Desert Storm.
Interview Links
Feature Excerpt
Worst Thing Was Nonsupport
Abstract
Interview Session 01 (Audio)
Marine infantryman during the Vietnam War.
Interview Session 02 (Audio)
Service in the IL Army National Guard & tour during Desert Storm
Transcript
Related Materials
Picture Captions
Detailed descriptions of the pictures listed below
Photos
Caption
Eddy Nicklaus (left) with his twin brother, Teddy.
Where:
Rock Falls, Illinois
When:
1952
Ownership:
Narrator's photo
Caption
After graduating from Rock Falls High School, Eddy Nicklaus (second from right) poses with his brother, Teddy (left), for a photo in their hometown paper, the Sterling-Rock Falls Gazette.
Where:
Rock Falls, Illinois
When:
June 6, 1963
Ownership:
May be restricted. Patrons desiring to use this photograph should contact the ALPL Audio-Visual Curator
Caption
Eddy Nicklaus, pictured with his twin brother, Teddy (on the right), and fellow Marine, who is a Hawaiian. The Nicklaus twins went into the USMC under the buddy program, trained together and were eventually assigned to the same unit in Vietnam.
Where:
Unknown
When:
Boot camp graduation day in September 1963
Ownership:
Narrator’s photo
Caption
Eddy (left) and Teddy Nicklaus pictured at Camp Pendleton, California in 1964. Eddy inscribed the photo with, “The Brothers Two: They’re indestructible, lovable, inseparable, handsome… etc., etc.”
Where:
Camp Pendleton, California
When:
1964
Ownership:
Narrator’s photo
Caption
Eddy Nicklaus (left) and his brother, Teddy, roll up a shelter-half while serving in Vietnam in September.
Where:
Vietnam
When:
September
Ownership:
Narrator’s photo
Caption
Eddy Nicklaus (shirtless and seated in front) with fellow Marines mading a mock village. Also in the jeep are (from left to right) Saffel, Peters, Lerma, Majors, Nicklaus, Jones and Enriquez (seated in the passenger seat).
Where:
In the mountains at Camp Pendleton, California
When:
1964
Ownership:
Public domain
Caption
Eddy Nicklaus (pictured left) and Mike “Flintstone” Johnson, aka ‘pilot and co-pilot,” while the two were stationed at Da Nang, South Vietnam in June of 1965.
Where:
Da Nang, South Vietnam
When:
June of 1965
Ownership:
Narrator’s photo
Caption
After they were caught attempting to fly home from Vietnam in a helicopter in June of 1965, Eddy Nicklaus and Mike “Flintstone” Johnson had to dig a four-hole head (latrine) as punishment.
Where:
Vietnam
When:
June of 1965
Ownership:
Public domain
Caption
Eddy Nicklaus during a company sweep in the I Corps region of South Vietnam in 1965. Nicklaus remarked on handkerchief, noting that he wore it all the time to absorb sweat. “Notice my hair,” he wrote, but “don’t laugh.”
Where:
I Corps region of South Vietnam
When:
1965
Ownership:
Narrator’s photo
Caption
Eddy Nicklaus, his platoon’s radioman, at work in the field in Vietnam.
Where:
Vietnam
When:
Unknown
Ownership:
Narrator’s photo
Caption
Eddy Nicklaus photographed in Vietnam in 1965. His platoon was located near the Da Nang airstrip, mostly south of Marble Mountain in the I Corps sector of South Vietnam.
Where:
Vietnam
When:
1965
Ownership:
Narrator’s photo
Caption
On the day his company left the Da Nang air strip in June of 1965, Eddy Nicklaus poses with Commander Crud, the unit’s puppy.
Where:
Da Nang air strip
When:
June of 1965
Ownership:
Unknown
Caption
Eddy Nicklaus and Jim Mahler photographed on their return from a refreshing shower run while assigned to I Corps region of South Vietnam.
Where:
I Corps region of South Vietnam
When:
Unknown
Ownership:
Narrator’s photo
Caption
Eddy Nicklaus (right, with an M-79 grenade launcher) with Richard “Doc” Bell at the platoon command bunker in 1965.
Where:
platoon command bunker
When:
1965
Ownership:
Narrator’s photo
Caption
Eddy Nicklaus (left) and Ken Majors pose with a local Vietnamese boy during a visit to one of the villages they so often patrolled, sometime in 1965.
Where:
Vietnam
When:
1965
Ownership:
Narrator’s photo
Caption
Eddy Nicklaus deplanes at O’Hare Airport after his flight home from Vietnam in April, 1966.
Where:
O’Hare Airport
When:
April, 1966
Ownership:
Narrator’s photo
Caption
Upon his homecoming from Vietnam, Eddy Nicklaus poses for a photograph with his wife, Carol in April, 1966.
Where:
Unknown
When:
April, 1966
Ownership:
Narrator’s photo
Caption
Eddy Nicklaus at Cherry Point, North Carolina in 1967.
Where:
Cherry Point, North Carolina
When:
1967
Ownership:
Narrator’s photo
Caption
Sergeant First Class Ed Nicklaus prior to the unit’s departure for Desert Storm at Billy Mitchell Airfield, Wisconsin in January 1991.
Where:
Billy Mitchell Airfield, Wisconsin
When:
January 1991
Ownership:
Narrator’s photo
Caption
Eddy Nicklaus (left) and his brother Teddy at Rock Falls Armory, Rock Falls, Illinois in May 1991.
Where:
Rock Falls Armory, Rock Falls, Illinois
When:
May 1991
Ownership:
Narrator’s photo
Caption
Eddy Nicklaus (right) and his brother, Teddy, enjoying a rare break as they check out their desert goggles with Sergeant Roger Behrens on the left.
Where:
Unknown
When:
Unknown
Ownership:
Narrator’s photo
Caption
Eddy (left) and Teddy Nicklaus on board an airplane bound for Saudi Arabia in January 1991.
Where:
Airplane bound for Saudi Arabia
When:
January 1991
Ownership:
Narrator’s photo
Caption
1644th’s vehicles and equipment after being unloaded from ship in January 1991 at port in Saudi Arabia.
Where:
Saudi Arabia
When:
January 1991
Ownership:
Narrator’s photo
Caption
The 2nd platoon, 1644th Truck Company’s Command Post tent in the desert of Iraq.
Where:
Desert of Iraq
When:
Unknown
Ownership:
Narrator’s photo
Caption
Eddy Nicklaus with Sgt. Roger Behrens at unknown convoy location in front of one of the 1644th Truck Company M915 Tractor/ Trailers.
Where:
Unknown
When:
Unknown
Ownership:
Narrator’s photo
Caption
Eddy Nicklaus (third from left) pose with a sign that reads “2nd PLT: Best PLT in the Army.” Also featured are( from left to right) unknown, SSG R. Link, SFC Eddy Nicklaus, SSG J. Tobin, SSG Teddy Nicklaus, Sgt Roger Behrens.
Where:
Saudi Arabia
When:
February 1991
Ownership:
Narrator’s photo
Caption
Eddy Nicklaus (left) and SP4 Kim Johnson pose with their weapons at the ready standing by the 2nd platoon’s command and control Blazer in preparation for the assault into Iraq in 1991.
Where:
Unknown
When:
1991
Ownership:
Narrator’s photo
Caption
The convoy forms up for the assault into Iraq. After the ground war, Iraqi POWs were loaded onto trailers for transportation to a POW camp in Saudi Arabia.
Where:
Unknown
When:
Unknown
Ownership:
Narrator’s photo
Caption
En route into Iraq, in February, 1991. The convoys stretched as far as you could see. Note the extended convoy interval.
Where:
En route into Iraq
When:
February, 1991
Ownership:
Narrator’s photo
Caption
The convoy passes by a destroyed T-69 tank (of Soviet manufacture) as they drive deeper into Iraq.
Where:
Iraq
When:
Unknown
Ownership:
Narrator’s photo
Caption
Eddy Nicklaus is seated on a destroyed T-69 tank somewhere in the western desert of Iraq.
Where:
Western desert of Iraq
When:
Unknown
Ownership:
Narrator’s photo
Caption
Families decorated the Rock Falls Armory with a large banner welcoming the 1644th Transportation Company home from Desert Shield/Desert Storm.
Where:
Unknown
When:
Unknown
Ownership:
Narrator’s photo
Caption
“Grandpa” Eddy Nicklaus with his grandson, Seth, upon Nicklaus’s return home from Iraq in May of 1991. Seth’s father, Brett, was less than 24 hours old when his father shipped out for Vietnam on March 13th, 1965.
Where:
Narrator’s photo
When:
May of 1991
Ownership:
Narrator’s photo