Hancel Grant Nicholson was born July 11, 1923 at Lucas, Iowa to Thomas Nicholson, a farmer, and Helen Norman Nicholson, a homemaker.

The family, which included two other sons, moved to Denver, Colorado, some time after 1930. 

Hancel attended West High School through 11th grade in 1940. He also worked for three years as a parking lot attendant.

He enlisted in the Navy on Jan. 29, 1941. That December he was a  seaman first class on the U.S.S. Arizona when he was killed in the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Dec. 7, 1941.

His older brother, Delbert, served in the Navy for three years starting in October 1942. His younger brother, Thomas, served in the Coast Guard for two years starting in May 1943.

Sources: The Denver (Colorado) Post; Census; U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs; Navy enlistment and muster rolls; Iowa birth record; Defense Department. This profile was researched and written on behalf of the U.S.S. Arizona Mall Memorial at the University of Arizona.