Born and raised in Iowa,[1] he is a 1956 graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York, where he received the General MacArthur Leadership Award for his class, and holds a master's degree in public administration from the University of Pennsylvania.

[3] He is an airborne ranger combat infantryman and served two and one-half years with infantry units in Vietnam.

Other overseas assignments during his 30-year Army career included duty in Germany, Korea, Lebanon and Switzerland.

[5] He is the brother of Jim Nicholson, a former Secretary of Veterans Affairs and Chair of the Republican National Committee.

His son John W. Nicholson Jr. is a 1982 graduate of West Point and was the U.S. Army general in charge of the Resolute Support Mission in Afghanistan for more than 2 years.