Jack told me that one evening he went to pick up his date when he spied a beautiful girl coming down the stairs into the front hall. He knew in a flash this was the girl for him. Being a gentleman, he was careful not to offend his date by showing interest in the new girl. He probably asked, in an off-hand way, if the new arrival was one of her friends, hoping for the desired introduction.

Family legend states that Jack and his friends were in a coffee shop when in walked Emma Hane Steadman, the girl of his dreams. She was in her third year of college and had the job of fund raising for the school. Jack told her that her "running-around days are over".

When I asked him what she said to that, he quoted her as asking if he was sure he had the right girl. You can imagine what his answer was! Her father was a Latin scholar and her mother was a court reporter. Emma (he called her Hane) had been a debating champion since high school and was now in college on a scholarship.

The couple dated for a year before he was transferred to combat duty. On leaving her, he gave her an engagement ring and a wedding band to hold, hoping and believing that he would return safely to her.

Jack flew three missions from Africa against the Germans in Sicily and Italy. On returning to the base from the first mission, he was entering the Officers' Club when he met face-to-face with Lieutenant Fred Miller, prominent Broad Ripple High School alum. On the second mission, his co-pilot was a general who did not know how to fly. On the third mission his plane was seriously shot up and Jack received a grievous wound in the leg which totally incapacitated him. Fortunately, the co-pilot on the mission could fly and got them back to the base. Jack went to a hospital in Egypt where it was found that he had lost much of his blood.

After convalescing for six months, Jack returned to duty. He then flew some forty more missions over Rome. At fifteen thousand feet, Jack was lead pilot in formations of 32 bombers. The Germans flew ME109s through their tight formations, sending high-explosive shells through windshields and engines.

When his wound caused paralysis of the left side, he was flown to a hospital in Miami. It was found that the sciatic nerve in his leg was damaged. I asked him at this point if his leg troubles him now, to which he replied that it does, some, in winter.

After his discharge in the U.S., he sent for his fiancée and they were married in Indianapolis, when they lived for forty-eight years. The couple has three daughters: Mary, Jacqueline, and Adeline; with five grandchildren.

Jack entered the real estate development business, building up seventy-five acres on 54th Street. They bought the old Newby farm in Nora and moved there. From there he built custom houses all over the north side.

On the occasion of this interview I asked Jack what he had done with his art and music, to which he replied, "Nothing." Asked if he flew into Indianapolis, he said that he had had three airplanes but sold them all and quit flying. He had driven the 700 miles to Indy in his "old Mercury".

Jack is a widower and said his wife had been a dedicated Christian since the age of seven. Under her influence he followed suit, at the Central Baptist Church at Central and the canal. Missing his adoptive state of South Carolina, he moved there after the death of his wife. There he is a builder and real-estate developer.

For a hobby, Jack goes treasure hunting in the Edisto River in South Carolina. It runs from the mountains to the sea and contains many historic artifacts. He uses a badminton racket to sweep things into a small, net-like seine. These include old coins, an occasional Confederate item, and a gold bracelet made in Latin-American Indian style. He assumed that a Spanish soldier or explorer had been up that way.

I was acquainted with Jack's older brother, Harrison, from School 80 and Shortridge, but he did not know me. He was two years older than we were. Like Jack, Harrison was an officer in the ROTC cadet corps. After graduation he attended IU where he earned a degree in merchandising and was active in the ROTC for four more years. As a hobby, he won "thousands" playing Bridge for money.

Harrison Nicholas received a commission to the US Army as a 2nd lieutenant and signed up before the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. He was stationed in the Aleutian Islands during the war helping to drive out the Japanese who had made an incursion into those U.S. possessions. He returned as a Major in the ordinance corps.

Harrison went to work for Sears, Roebuck, & Company and before his death from polio at age 47, had reached the position of Vice President. He was married to a Bloomington girl named Ruth Rodgers, also a graduate of IU. They had two sons, one of whom was a doctor for thirty-two years in San Clemente, California.