Brooke Nihart

Brooke Nihart was born on March 16, 1919, in Los Angeles, California. While he was still in high school, he joined the California National Guard. After graduating from Occidental College with a degree in political science and economics in 1940, he entered the Marine Corps' Platoon Leaders Class. Nihart was required by the Marines to have three names, so he assumed Franklin as his first name, which he himself rarely used.[1] Commissioned as a second lieutenant upon graduating, he attended further training at The Basic School in Philadelphia.[2][3]

Nihart's first assignment was as a gunnery officer aboard the USS Saratoga. When the United States entered World War II, the Saratoga took part in the unsuccessful effort to relieve Wake Island. Afterwards, he taught amphibious landing tactics. From April to June 1945, Major Nihart took part in the battle of Okinawa as the executive officer of 1st Battalion, 1st Marines, 1st Marine Division. After the war, he took part in the occupation of China.[2][3]

By 1951, Lieutenant Colonel Nihart was given command of 2nd Battalion, 1st Marines, 1st Marine Division during the Korean War. In September 1951, he led 200 Marines in the first nighttime helicopter operation in military history. The Marines landed on a North Korean hilltop near Hill 749 at the Battle of the Punchbowl.[1][2][3]

Throughout the night of September 15 and into the next morning, Nihart led his battalion in repulsing numerous enemy attacks and was able to maintain a defensive perimeter despite heavy casualties among his Marines. The battle was so fierce that Marine from Nihart's battalion, Corporal Joseph Vittori, single-handedly killed 200 of the enemy with a machine gun before he was killed. He was later awarded the Medal of Honor. Nihart himself was awarded the Navy Cross for his actions during the battle.[1]

In 1953, Nihart served on the Department of Defense's Advisory Committee on Prisoners of War. The committee discovered an alarming trend where prisoners of war revealed military secrets to their captors after undergoing brainwashing. Nihart was tasked with writing a code of conduct to prevent future American prisoners from revealing secrets. He ultimately wrote six articles, which President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed into law with an executive order on August 17, 1955.[1][2][3]

In 1959, Nihart served as a military attaché to the U.S. embassy in Rangoon, Burma. From October 1961 to July 1963, he was the commanding officer of the 7th Marine Regiment at Camp Pendleton, California, where he established a regimental history program.[4] Nihart also frequently wrote articles for the Marine Corps Gazette. Colonel Nihart retired from the Marines in 1966 and moved to McLean, Virginia.[2][3][5]

Nihart served on the Commandant's Advisory Committee on Marine Corps History from 1968 to 1971. After serving as the managing editor for Armed Forces Journal, he was briefly recalled to active duty in 1973 to serve as the Deputy Director for Marine Corps Museums. Despite leaving the service again, he continued to fill the position as Deputy Director as a civilian, establishing the Marine Corps Museum at Washington Navy Yard in 1977. The following year he opened the Marine Corps Air-Ground Museum at Marine Corps Base Quantico, Virginia. Nihart retired as Deputy Director in 1992 and was awarded the Distinguished Service Award by the Marine Corps Historical Foundation.[2][3][5]

Brooke Nihart was instrumental in preparing the opening of the National Museum of the Marine Corps in Triangle, Virginia, acquiring many of the vehicles and aircraft which were to be featured. Sadly, Nihart died of heart and kidney trouble on August 30, 2006, at Inova Fairfax Hospital in Falls Church Virginia. The National Museum of the Marine Corps opened just a few months later on November 10, 2006.[2][3] Nihart was buried in Arlington National Cemetery.[6][7]

• List of Navy Cross recipients for the Korean War