Cleo T. Simon KIA While Serving Under Gen. George S. Patton

My Great Uncle, Cleo T. Simon, served in WWII under General George S. Patton. He was assigned to the headquarters and one of 4 soldiers that volunteered to crawl under German fire to repair wires that had been broken, restoring communication and ultimately allowing the U.S. to cross to the Saar. He received a Silver Star for bravery, the European Theatre Ribbon twice for both France and Germany, and HQ Awards for Bravery after his death.

His only sister, named as Mrs. James Taylor in his obituary, was my grandmother. My father's mother. (Click image for full view)

My Great Uncle Harold Simon, (Cleo's youngest brother) was also fighting in Germany at the same time Uncle Cleo was there. Uncle Harold was only about 17 at the time and ended up a POW before the war ended and he came home.

I can't imagine what it was like for my Great Grandparents Jim and Ida Simon. To have two sons in a foreign war. Then to have one killed there and another taken prisoner.

The war Dept letter reads:

"For Gallantry in action against the enemy, on Dec 3, 1944, in the vicinity of *** Private First Class Simon was one of a four man wire team sent out to repair a line from regimental command post to the third battalion command post. German artillery Fire was heavy. When the team had restored the line as far as *** they took cover. Pointing out the importance of the line under repair, the non-commissioned officer in charge of the team asked for volunteers to accompany him in completing the hazardous mission. All four men volunteered. Under terrible shelling, private first class Simon and his comrades crawled out of cover to resume their work. Despite the barrage, they repaired several breaks in the line before a shell landed in their midst, killing private first class Simon and wounding his three comrades. Private First Class Simon's gallant devotion to duty reflects lasting credit on him and is in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service"

I'm not sure about the starred (*) out names of the location, but others in his company told that they were in an area near Niederlimberg, which was near Wallerfangen, just on the banks of the Saar River in Germany.

I wish I could have met them, but I didn't come along until years later when my daddy was 32. He had been 14 when Uncle Cleo died, but those years held a lot of memories that he has shared with us, and my grandmother continued to get tears in her eyes talking about her brothers 50 years later. Tears of pride more so than sadness by then, they were her Heroes too.

Thank you, Uncle Cleo for giving your life, for the bravery that gave you strength to volunteer for that mission. Thank you Uncle Harold for not submitting to the fears and pains of being a Prisoner of War. Thank you both for serving our Country.

One day I hope you will sit on a cloud with me and tell me all about it.

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