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Northeast News
August 11, 2016
KANSAS CITY, Missouri – Historic Northeast resident and World War II veteran Frank “Bobo” Nickerson, whose nickname derives from his colorful post-war career as a pregame entertainer for baseball teams, passed away last week at the age of 94.
Nickerson was laid to rest on Thursday, August 11, in a funeral fit for a hero. Nickerson had no immediate family in the Kansas City area other than his wife of over 60 years, so Dave and Celine Collins semi-formally adopted the couple, making sure their needs were met on a day to day basis.
“We’re just being good neighbors,” said Celine Collins, who helped arrange Nickerson’s funeral. “To us he’s really kind of a hero with what he did and his history in not only WWII but also major league baseball.”
Frank “Bobo” Nickerson was born in La Crosse, WI on 9/26/1921. He was raised by his Aunt Vertie in the Kansas City area. In 1942, he joined the Army at the age of 21. Although he was honorably discharged as a Private First Class, he made rank several times. He was also demoted several times for what the Army termed “shenanigans.” On one occasion he was refused weekend leave by a superior officer, so he stole an Army jeep and took a group of buddies out for a night on the town.
Nickerson served in the Pacific Theater during WWII, seeing action in New Guinea and the island of Luzon in the Philippines. For his meritorious service he was awarded the World War II Victory Medal with one Bronze Star, the Asiatic–Pacific Campaign Medal with Bronze Service Star and a Purple Heart. He also graduated Army Ranger School. Following WWII, Nickerson played baseball with the House of David baseball team, then considered the Harlem Globetrotters of baseball. He also played for the Indianapolis Clowns, another traveling minor league baseball team, where he honed his craft of clowning. Nickerson was once called in as a relief pitcher for the Philadelphia Phillies – and according to his stories – pitched a couple of major league games. Nickerson leaves his wife of 65 years.
Since Nickerson was a decorated WWII veteran, Collins enlisted the support of the Northwest Missouri Patriot Guard.
“We are honored to be asked to do this for Mr. Nickerson,” said Randy “Pops” Vogel of the Patriot Guard riders. “He’s a hero to us and that’s why we’re here, to give him the service and dignity in his burial that he deserves.”
Roughly 20 Patriot Guard Riders turned out for the service, which began at the DW Newcomers Chapel at Blue Ridge and 350 Highway in Raytown and will culminate at the United States Veterans cemetery in Higginsville, Missouri. Nickerson will be buried with full military honors.
The Northeast News was lucky enough to sit down with Nickerson for a feature article last summer. That story, written by Michaela Bishop, is posted in full below. A number of other features that profiled Nickerson during his playing days with Major League Baseball are linked at the bottom of this article.
KANSAS CITY, Missouri — Today, there aren’t many World War II veterans left alive. Luckily, there’s still Frank “Bobo” Nickerson of the Northeast.
When Frank turned 20-years-old, he and his neighborhood friends signed up for the military. From 1941-1945, Frank served in WWII as a member of the Army.
“We thought we would stay together but we didn’t stay together at all,” Frank said. “Some went to Europe, only two other guys besides me wound up in the Pacific.”
During his time spent in WWII, Frank was moved around quite a bit. Some of the locations he was sent to included: Fort Leonard Wood, Mo., Fort Jackson, S.C., New Guinea, and the Philippines. During that time, Frank suffered from excessive drinking and Battle Fatigue which is similar to Post Traumatic Stress Disorder [PTSD]. According to Learner’s Dictionary, Battle Fatigue is “a mental illness caused by the experience of fighting in a war and causes extreme feelings of nervousness and depression.” He noted seeing guys, “blown apart, cut in half, and everything else,” as the cause of his illness.
“When I came back from the war I carried a pistol and didn’t trust anyone,” Frank said. “I went shopping downtown. This truck went ‘pow pow’ and I turned around like I had my weapon and I woke up. People were looking at me, I was embarrassed.”
While fighting, Frank was injured a few times — a concussion knocked him out for a few days and he was shot in the leg — but none were life threatening. He’s now confined to a wheel chair, but still manages to visit the Veterans of Foreign Wars [VFW] every week. He and the other veterans share their stories. Frank wants everyone to know the war was a very scary place.
“I’m lucky I’m still here,” Frank said. “I figured the man up there has something else he wants me to do. When the war ended, I went up on this hill by myself and got down on my knees and I thanked the man.”
Life After War
His time in the military isn’t the only thing he likes to talk about. For a few years after the war, Frank was also a baseball clown for the Philadelphia Phillies. Frank mentioned that when he performed at the games, he was more of a physical act, which included twirling the bat like a baton, standing on his head, and throwing baseballs at the players.
“One act I had was instead of stopping at third base, I continued to run and crashed into the left field fence,” Frank said.
His wife of 64 years, Marilyn Nickerson went to many of his performances and thought they were remarkable.
“As he first started out, his act was great, but every year I would go see him performing it was so much better than the year before,” Marilyn said. “His act was very comical and remarkable.”
For the first three years, Frank’s pre-game shows lasted 15 minutes, but they eventually increased to 30 minutes. As a child, Frank loved playing baseball. He was a pitcher for years, but eventually thought it was time to move on.
“As a kid I wanted to be a baseball player but then I learned it was just about the business and not the game,” Frank said. “In high school, I discovered I could be doing this other stuff on stage and so I was kind of torn between the two.”
Frank and Marilyn met after the war and recently celebrated 64 years of marriage on May 18, 2015.
“I met her at the Federal Reserve Bank and she was a teletype operator down there,” Frank said. “I was security down there and I knew all about her. We went a date and we went together for six months and then got married May 18, 1951.”
Marilyn suffers from strokes, but said Frank’s constant assistance is one of her favorite things about him.
“He helps me a lot because I had a stroke, and he goes and gets things so I don’t have to get up so much and walk around so much, because I fall,” Marilyn said. “He makes sure I’m okay. He just watches over me.”
The two did not have children, but do have a dog and a cat. They look forward to many more years together.
If you want to know more about the life of Frank “Bobo” Nickerson, check out some of the links below:
UPDATE: Special thanks to Celine Collins for providing photos from Nickerson’s August 11 service at the Missouri Veterans Cemetery in Higginsville, Missouri.
Michael Bushnell
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