On 17 December 1966, 1LT James P. Simons, Troop A, 1-9th Cavalry earned the Distinguished Service Cross in Vietnam. In addition to the DSC, CPT Simons has also been awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, Bronze Star and three Purple Hearts. His citation is below: Citation: The President of the United States takes pleasure in presenting the Distinguished Service Cross to James P. Simons (0-5532898), First Lieutenant (Armor), U.S. Army, for extraordinary heroism in connection with military operations involving conflict with an armed hostile force in the Republic of Vietnam, while serving with Troop A, 1st Squadron, 9th Cavalry, 1st Cavalry Division (airmobile). First Lieutenant Simons distinguished himself by exceptionally valorous actions on 17 December 1966 while serving as team leader of a helicopter scout group during a ground search and destroy mission near Bong Son. When initial ground contact with Viet Cong was made, Lieutenant Simons began flying at tree-top level on the outskirts of the battle area to prevent enemy escape. He began to receive machine gun fire and maneuvered so that the observer with him could fire on the insurgents, killing two of the enemy in this manner. He then began to reconnoiter the battle area for landing zones in preparation for infiltration of a rifle platoon. He received intense machine gun fire from two small clearings but returned the fire and mortally wounded a Viet Cong gunner. Finding a zone free of enemy control, he led the helicopters through a successful infiltration. After rearming and refueling his aircraft, Lieutenant Simons returned and found the friendly force in close combat with the insurgents. Despite intense ground fire, he flew at tree-top level to mark hostile positions with smoke grenades for supporting armed aircraft. When it became evident that the ground troops were still unable to maneuver because of the heavily fortified Viet Cong emplacement, Lieutenant Simons hovered his helicopter over the hostile bunkers and dropped grenades on them. Seeing friendly casualties stranded near the insurgent emplacements, he hovered in front of the enemy positions, attracting the insurgents fire while the casualties were carried to safety. His aircraft was damaged by several enemy rounds, but he skillfully landed it outside the area of contact. First Lieutenant Simons extraordinary heroism and devotion to duty were in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit upon himself, his unit, and the United States Army.
Posted on: Wed, 17 Dec 2014 16:00:00 +0000
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