WASHINGTON, D.C. — Secretary of Veterans Affairs Anthony J. Principi administered the oath of office April 16 to John W. “Jack” Nicholson as Under Secretary for Memorial Affairs in the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).
“Jack Nicholson is a veteran with an outstanding record of service and success,” said Principi. “The important work of honoring veterans in death and continuing America’s commitment to maintaining our national cemeteries as sacred shrines is in good hands.”
Nicholson, a 30-year Army veteran, is a 1956 graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y. He holds a master’s degree in public administration. He taught military tactics at West Point and served on both the Army staff and the Joint Chiefs of Staff in the Pentagon. His overseas military assignments include more than two years with infantry units in Vietnam and tours of duty in Germany, Lebanon, Switzerland and Korea. He retired from the Army in 1986 with the rank of brigadier general.
Nicholson was a Federal Executive Fellow at the Brookings Institution and has served on the board of directors of several associations. In recent years, he has been active in numerous civic and veterans organizations.
As under secretary, Nicholson will direct the operation and maintenance of 120 VA national cemeteries and other memorial-related programs for veterans and eligible family members. VA also provides headstones and markers for eligible veterans, administers a federal grants program to help states set up veterans cemeteries, and issues Presidential Memorial Certificates to the families of honorably discharged deceased veterans.
Information on VA burial benefits is available from national cemetery offices and VA regional offices at 1-800-827-1000 or visit the VA web sites on the Internet at http://www.va.gov or http://www.cem.va.gov.
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