Sailing the Troubled Sea: A Nebraska Boy Goes to War

Herbert E. Nolda was born in Lincoln, Nebraska, in 1920. As a boy, he enjoyed raising pigeons, rabbits and chickens. In 1934, the family moved to Ravenna, Nebraska, when Herbert’s father was transferred there to work as a machinist in the roundhouse of the Burlington, Chicago, and Quincy Railroad. Herbert worked on farms during the depression and graduated from Ravenna High School in May 1938.

He then gained employment in the fruit orchards of Wenatchee, Washington, for two summers, and then moved to Santa Monica, California, where he gained employment in the Douglas Aircraft Factory.

He tried to enlist in the United States Navy on the day of the Pearl Harbor bombing, but was turned away as there were too many other recruits. He returned to Ravenna, and was inducted into the Coast Guard at Omaha in April 1942. He served nearly four years, and took part in the D-Day Invasion of France. Herbert returned to Ravenna in December, 1945, and a few days later gained employment with the, Burlington, and Quincy Railroad, working on the Alliance Division. In 1948 he married Virginia Pesek. Herbert was employed with the railroad for thirty-six years. During this time he also ran a greenhouse, engaged in beekeeping, and raised livestock. After retirement from the railroad, Herbert began work on a model steam engine and eventually completed two of these. In the mid-1990s he wrote his railroad memoirs. He also renewed his interest in pigeons and began raising show pigeons.

In 1994, on the 50th Anniversary of D-Day, he wrote a brief account of his part in the D-Day Invasion. In 2001 he and his daughter, Valerie, compiled an account of his entire Coast Guard career. In 2006 they added many more photographs and expanded the text to form this book.