 USS Nicholson ( Destroyer No. 52 / DD @-@ 52 ) was an O 'Brien @-@ class destroyer built for the United States Navy before the American entry into World War I. The ship was the second U.S. Navy vessel named in honor of five members of the Nicholson family who gave distinguished service in the American Revolutionary War , the War of 1812 , and the American Civil War : brothers James , Samuel , and John Nicholson ; William Nicholson , son of John ; and James W. Nicholson , grandson of Samuel . 
