Thom Nicholson was born in Springfield, Missouri, and grew up in northern
Arkansas and southwest Missouri. After graduating from the Missouri School of
Mines, he worked briefly in a uranium mine in New Mexico and then entered the
U.S. Army. He served as a Special Forces officer in Vietnam in 1966, as an
A-team executive officer, and, in 1969, as a Raider Company commander for CCN,
MACV-SOG. After being discharged, he joined the U.S. Army Reserve and
completed his career in staff and command assignments with special operations
and training commands. In 1996, with more than thirty years commissioned
service, he retired at the rank of colonel.
As a civilian, Mr. Nicholson was a registered professional engineer. He
received an M.B.A. from Pepperdine University and graduated from National
Defense University and the U.S. Army Command and General Staff School. After
military and civilian retirement, he started writing novels, many about the
Civil War and the American West. He and his wife, Sandra, have five children.
