Captain Nowicki was the pilot of a F-84D Thunderjet fighter with the 311th Fighter-Bomber Squadron, 58th Fighter-Bomber Group. On 11 August 1952, while on a training mission at the Naktong Bomb Range, his aircraft lost a wing during recovery from a run and crashed.

Nowicki was awarded the Korean Service Medal, the United Nations Service Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, the Korean Presidential Unit Citation and the Republic of Korea War Service Medal.