Plaque located by elevator of the lobby of Nosker House (patches at the bottom came from the 449th)
Nov. 4th, 2016 Jennifer and I had the privilege to attend a special event at The Ohio State University honoring the families of veterans for which dormitories in the North Campus district were named. One of those dormitories is Nosker House, named for Maj. Wm. Nosker, 718th squadron commander of the 449th BG(H). We were seated at the “Nosker table”. Also in attendance was Bill’s widow, a niece and his widow’s daughter by a second marriage and her caretaker.
William Nosker was an Ohio native and OSU alumnus where he played on the varsity football team and participated in student government. He was the original Commanding Officer of the 718th Squadron before being assigned as the Assistant Operations Officer for the 47th Wing. He was killed in a takeoff crash flying with the 376th Bomb Group for the 15 August 1944 Operation Dragoon invasion of Southern France.
After eating a delicious meal and hearing inspiring speeches, the members of our table were given a guided tour of Nosker House. (Nosker House was first opened for students the fall of 2016 and replaced a smaller and outdated Nosker House built in the 60’s.) It was an exciting experience for me and capped off a journey that started with the 2013 Louisville reunion. I’m pleased to see that the legacy of one of the 449th’s own has been honored in such a meaningful way.
See the Winter 2014 Latepass for more information about Major Nosker.
By Alan Davis
Picture from the banquet: Jennifer and I, Jean Lombard (Maj. Nosker’s widow), her daughter (second marriage), her niece (Bill’s brother’s daughter) and Jean’s caretaker.
Banner displayed in lobby of the dormitory (left: Grant Miller (author of Lantern article on “Doc” and Bill); right: Alex (dorm supervisor and tour guide)
Poster on one of dorm’s floors
Classrooms located in first floor of dorm for Agriculture program (Bill’s major)
The OSU newspaper, The Lantern, carried a two part story on Maj. Nosker and another 449ther:
- TheLantern.com/2014/11/bill-nosker-the-man-behind-the-dorm
- TheLantern.com/2014/11/a-moment-from-wwii-still-rings-strongly-for-alumnus-doc-allen-70-years-later
The OSU Alumni magazine carried an article on Maj. Nosker:
