From Campus to Camp Atterbury

By Lily Connelly

Nolan Ashburn during his freshman year at the University of Tennessee Knoxville, ancestry.com.

Company H of the 424th Infantry Regiment training at Camp Atterbury, Indiana, 106th Infantry Division Association.

Nolan Lee Ashburn

April 8, 1923 - December 15, 2018

Nolan Lee Ashburn was born on April 8, 1923, in Wilder, Tennessee.[1 ] He was the son of a coal miner and a coal miner’s daughter, George and Effie Ashburn.[2 ] Nolan’s father, George, was a veteran of World War I. In fact, George was the first American wounded in WWI by shrapnel while serving in the First Infantry Division.[3] He never recovered from his wounds, spending time in various hospitals in Europe and America. He succumbed to those wounds nine years after his service, when Nolan was only three.[4] Effie never remarried and struggled to support Nolan and herself during the Great Depression, so Nolan went to live with his Aunt Martha and Uncle Earl in Sparta, Tennessee.[5] Nolan grew up in this mining community. He was a member of the Boy Scouts, and was the valedictorian of his high school class.[6] He enrolled in the University of Tennessee in Knoxville to study geology and joined the Pi Kappa Phi fraternity there.[7]

Nolan’s mother called him during his freshman year at Knoxville in 1942 to tell him to stay in school and not enlist to fight in World War II, and to remember his father. However, she had called a day too late: he had already signed up alongside the other boys in his college housing the day before.[8] Nolan was placed on reserve for the Army, as he was taking Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) classes at the University of Tennessee.[9] He completed two years at UT Knoxville before the boys in ROTC were called to do basic training at Fort McClellan, Alabama.[10] After basic training, Nolan was still on reserve and decided to join an Army Specialized Training Program (ASTP) being offered at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa.[11] These training programs were meant to bring men with advanced vocational training into the Army.[12] So Nolan would go from Fort McClain to class in uniform, for a year, still studying geology alongside Army technical training.[13] Nolan would go on to meet his future wife, Margene, in Tuscaloosa, whom he would marry in August of 1944.[14] The ASTP was dissolved as more troops were needed for the invasion of Europe, so Nolan went to Camp Atterbury, Indiana, in the summer of 1944 for another basic training cycle.[15]

Nolan was part of the 106th Infantry Division, known as “The Golden Lions,” made up of the 422nd, 423rd, and 424th Infantry Regiments.[16] He was part of the 424th Infantry Regiment, in Company H.[17] This division is best known for its participation in the Battle of the Bulge, the last major German offensive on the Western Front during World War II. The Battle of the Bulge is one of the most famous battles of WWII because it was one of the largest and had a high number of casualties.[18] The 106th Division departed from New York, the last full division that went overseas, and arrived in France in early December. They crossed into Belgium on December 10, less than a week before the German Army began the famous battle.[19] The 106th Division was tasked with relieving the 2nd Infantry Division from their position in the Ardennes Forest, a part of the Western Front which had previously been so quiet that the men called it the “Ghost Front.”[20] In an oral history interview, Nolan recalled that the regiments hadn’t even been there long enough to set up communications.[21] His company had been on the front for a couple of days, a few miles ahead of the Division Headquarters in St. Vith, located in Eastern Belgium near the German border. The Division's front stretched about 27 miles and the 424th was in charge of the ten most southern miles.[22] It was extremely cold and snowy, the dirt roads were difficult to drive on, and the surrounding forest was thick. The area was also filled with valleys and ravines.[23]

When the Battle of the Bulge began on December 16, 1944, Nolan remembered that the Germans proceeded down the road with tanks and artillery, intending to reclaim St. Vith. Nolan describes the chaos of the next days, as there was an attempt to evacuate St. Vith.[24] During this chaos, the 422nd and 423rd had to surrender after being surrounded.[25] All of the regiments were split up, and with a lack of communication, the bad weather, and being new to the area, many of the troops scattered around the forest did not even know they were surrounded.[26] The 424th managed to keep defending St. Vith. After becoming lost in the snowy landscape, Nolan eventually connected with a few men and a Sergeant from another division. He accompanied them to fight in Manhay, a nearby village.[27] In his oral history interview, he spoke of his unforgettable Christmas Eve dinner that year, when one man in the group found a frozen can of corned beef hash in the snow. The men opened it and ate it with their bayonets, each getting a mouthful or two.[28] Despite the conditions, the American troops pushed the Germans back and started advancing. Nolan participated in defending Manhay and found shelter in a basement.[29] Afterward, what was left of the 424th Regiment was put in charge of supervising prisoners of war across the river from Frankfurt.[30] They were then scheduled to travel to and participate in the invasion of Japan on October 1, but the dropping of the two atomic bombs in August ended the war.[31] Nolan was sent back to the United States again, much to his and the regiment’s relief.[32] For his participation in the Battle of the Bulge, Nolan received the Combat Infantryman Badge and the Bronze Star Medal.[33]

Nolan returned to the University of Alabama to finish his bachelor’s degree in geology under the G.I. Bill. After all, he only had one year left after two years on reserve and a year of ASTP. Once he graduated, he could still use the G.I. Bill for his master’s degree in Geology.[34] He lived with Margene and her aunt in Baton Rouge while he completed his MS at Louisiana State University.[35] One requirement of the master's program was to take a summer course at a geology camp in Colorado Springs, which is where Nolan first came to Colorado.[36] He taught geology at The Centenary College of Louisiana while working on his PhD in geology.[37] He returned to teach at the geology camp in Colorado Springs. He was hired to work for Sundance Oil Co. and worked there until his retirement.[38] At Sundance Oil, he likely would’ve done things like collect rock samples or seismic data to determine the locations and likelihood of natural resources.[39]

Nolan also joined The CUB of the Golden Lion, a publication and association made by and for those who fought in the 106th.[40] The CUB organized reunions, established memorials, and set up a scholarship for the children of men in the 106th who had passed. The CUB also shared articles about the Division’s history, personal stories, memories, and news about the various veterans.[41] Nolan attended a couple of reunion meetings and went on three separate trips back to Europe, to St. Vith and other locations from his service with fellow Golden Lions.[42]

The Ashburns lived in Denver for over 40 years and eventually relocated to Fort Collins, Colorado. Nolan and Margene had two sons and two daughters, nine grandchildren, and seven great-grandchildren.[43] Margene passed away in the fall of 2011 and is buried in Fort Collins.[44] Nolan passed away on December 15, 2018.[45]

Footnotes ↓

[1] “US, WWII Draft Registration Cards, 1940,” fold3.com, accessed August 2025, entry for Nolan Lee Ashburn.

[2] “Nolan Ashburn,” interview by Brad Hoopes, Fort Collins, Colorado, February 12, 2007, Northern Colorado Veterans History Project, accessed August 2025, https://archives.mountainscholar.org/digital/collection/p17393coll68/id/398/rec/1.

[3] Ibid.

[4] “First American Wounded in France, Tennessean, Dies After Nine Years,” George W Ashburn Gallery, Wilson Family Tree, ancestry.com, accessed August 2025; “Nolan Ashburn,” interview by Brad Hoopes.

[5] “Nolan Ashburn,” interview by Brad Hoopes; “1930 United States Federal Census,” ancestry.com, accessed August 2025, entry for Nolan L Ashburn.

[6] “Boy Scouts Honor Guests at Service,” The Sparta Expositor, February 11, 1937, accessed August 2025, https://newscomwc.newspapers.com/image/605054641/?match=2&terms=Nolan%20Ashburn&pqsid=5BQPP004wm-bNZ_CjRK03g%3A569237%3A708102650; “Nolan Ashburn,” interview by Brad Hoopes.

[7] “Nolan Ashburn,” interview by Brad Hoopes; “U.S., School Yearbooks, 1900-2016,” University of Tennessee Knoxville, 1943, ancestry.com, accessed August 2025, entry for Nolan Lee Ashburn.

[8] “Nolan Ashburn,” interview by Brad Hoopes.

[9] Ibid.; “US, WWII Army Enlistment Records, 1938-1946,” fold3.com, accessed August 2025, entry for Nolan Ashburn.

[10] “Nolan Ashburn,” interview by Brad Hoopes.

[11] Ibid.; “Scottsboro,” The Chattanooga Times, October 17, 1943, accessed August 2025, https://newscomwc.newspapers.com/image/604649905/?match=1&terms=Nolan%20Ashburn&pqsid=5BQPP004wm-bNZ_CjRK03g%3A569237%3A708102650.

[12] Robert R. Palmer, Bell I. Wiley, et al, “The Army Specialized Training Program and the Army Ground Forces,” in The Army Ground Forces: The Procurement and Training of Ground Combat Troops, Washington D.C., Center of Military History, 1948, p 28-39, https://www.marshallfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/ASTP_The_Army_Specialized_Training_Program_and.pdf.

[13] “Nolan Ashburn,” interview by Brad Hoopes.

[14] “Tennessee, U.S., Marriage Records, 1780-2002,” ancestry.com, accessed August 2025, entry for Nolan L Ashburn.

[15] “Nolan Ashburn,” interview by Brad Hoopes.

[16] Ray Starman, “The Desperate Hours: The Demise of the 106th Infantry Division during the opening, desperate hours of the Battle of the Bulge,” Indiana Military Organization, accessed August 2025, https://www.indianamilitary.org/106ID/Bulge/Bulge.htm.

[17] Jim West, “106th Infantry Division Roster,” Indiana Military Organization, accessed August 2025, https://106thinfdivassn.org/roster106/rostera.html.

[18] Robert Citino, "The Fall of the Golden Lions" December 20, 2019, accessed August 2025, https://www.nationalww2museum.org/war/articles/fall-golden-lions.; James D. West, “Important Dates,” Indiana Military Organization, accessed August 2025, https://www.indianamilitary.org/106ID/ImportantDates/ImportantDates.htm.; Vanessa Marquette, “Remembering the Battle of the Bulge: 80 Years Later,” December 10, 2024, accessed August 2025, https://news.syr.edu/blog/2024/12/10/remembering-the-battle-of-the-bulge-80-years-later/.

[19] James D. West, “106th Division Reference #92 Order of Battle,” Indiana Military Organization, accessed August 2025, https://www.indianamilitary.org/106ID/Rosters/REFERENCES/92-BattleOrder/92.htm.

[20] Citino, "The Fall of the Golden Lions.”

[21] “Nolan Ashburn,” interview by Brad Hoopes.

[22] Ibid.

[23] Starman, “The Desperate Hours.”

[24] “Nolan Ashburn,” interview by Brad Hoopes.

[25] Citino, “The Fall of the Golden Lions.”

[26] Ibid.; “Nolan Ashburn,” interview by Brad Hoopes.

[27] Ibid.

[28] Ibid.

[29] Ibid.

[30] Ibid.

[31] Ibid.

[32] Ibid.

[33] Donald Prell, “106th Awards,” Indiana Military Organization, accessed August 2025, https://www.indianamilitary.org/106ID/Awards/All%20awards/All%20Awards.htm.; “Nolan Ashburn,” interview by Brad Hoopes.

[34] “Nolan Ashburn,” interview by Brad Hoopes.

[35] “1950 United States Federal Census,” ancestry.com, accessed August 2025, entry for Nolan Ashburn.

[36] “Nolan Ashburn,” interview by Brad Hoopes.

[37] “Today’s News,” The Shreveport Journal, May 13, 1949, accessed August 2025, https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/600195671/.

[38] “Nolan Ashburn,” interview by Brad Hoopes.

[39] “What is a Petroleum Geologist?,” Environmentalscience.org, accessed August 2025, https://www.environmentalscience.org/career/petroleum-geologist.

[40] “Nolan Ashburn,” interview by Brad Hoopes.

[41] James D. West, “Association History,” Indiana Military Organization, accessed August 2025, https://www.indianamilitary.org/106ID/Publications/CubInReview/09-AssociationHistory.htm.

[42] “Nolan Ashburn,” interview by Brad Hoopes.

[43] “Obituary for Margene Ashburn,” Windsor Beacon, October 14, 2011, accessed August 2025, https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/672805730/.

[44] Ibid.

[45] “US, Veterans’ Gravesites, ca. 1775-2019,” fold3.com, accessed August 2025, entry for Nolan L Ashburn.