lest we forget

SIMMONS, TRAVIS A. JR.

Rank / Branch:

HOSPITAL CORPMAN CLASS 3, U.S, NAVY

Date Of Birth:

1943-08-27

Country Of Loss:

SOUTH VIETNAM

Status:

HOSTILE-SMALL ARMS FIRE

Aircraft/Vehicle/Ground:

GROUND

Other:

NON MARRIED

Unit:

FIRST MARINE DIVISION

Date Of Loss:

1967-03-16

Loss Coordinates:

QUANG NGAI

Catagory:

BODY RETURNED

Awards & Decorations:

SEE BIO

VETERAN HAGI0GRAPHY

SIMMONS, TRAVIS A., JR., HOSPITAL CORPMAN, CLASS THREE, U.S. NAVY

AWARDS AND DECORATIONS

SILVER STAR, PURPLE HEART WITH GOLD STAR, NAVY COMMENTDATIONS MEDAL, NAVY GOOD CONDUCT MEDAL, NATIONAL DEFENSE SERVICE MEDAL, VIETNAM SERVICE MEDAL, VIETNAM CROSS OF GALLANTRY WITH PALM, VIETNAM CAMPAIGN MEDAL, MARINE CORP COMBAT ACTION RIBBON.avy Good Conduct Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Vietnam Service Medal, Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal

BIOGRAPHY

Travis Simmons was born in Childress, Texas, on August 27, 1943. He attended the Childress public schools through high school. He also attended the Woods Trade School in Midland. He loved the outdoors, enjoying hunting, fishing, and athletics.
Travis Simmons was a special type person who was loved by family and many friends. The loss of Travis is a great tragedy. He was very dedicated and a conscientious red-blooded American who was willing to give up his own life to save the lives of others.
Travis was a Navy Corpsman, being detailed to the Marines for a tour in Vietnam. His fellow troops called him "Doc Simmons". We received many letters from fellow soldiers telling us how many lives he had saved. Travis began his tour in Vietnam in late 1966.
He was assigned as a Hospital Corpman to H&S Company, 2nd Battalion, 7th Marines, First Marine Division. On March 16, 1967, Travis was on patrol with F Company, 2/7, during Operation DeSoto. The patrol was west of Duc Phof. The unit was hit in an ambush from a rice patty. The company came under heavy automatic fire from several machine guns of an indetermined V.C. force. The ambush was sprung on the rear elements. Travis was shot in the foot in the initial volley. A fellow corpsman pulled him out of the live fire and rendered aid, but Travis was not the type that was going to stay down when his troops were falling. Returning to action, he was giving aid to a wounded Marine in the rice paddy, when he received a fatal shot from a machine gun that shot him through the neck. Seven marines and Corpman Simmons lost their lives in this engagement. Three marines and Corpman Simmons were cited with the Silver Star and one Marine was awarded the Navy Cross.
Travis was like many other servicemen. He believed that they were doing what was right for their fellow Americans. Ed Simmons, Travis' brother, hopes that we Americans don't lose sight of what America stands for, and that all of the American soldiers who have given their best- and some who have gave their all- have not done so in vain.
Travis was buried with full military honors in the Childress Cemetery in Childress, Texas.
THE SECRETARY OF THE NAVY WASHINGTON The President of the United States takes pride in presenting the SILVER STAR MEDAL posthumously to TRAVIS A. SIMMONS, JR. 771 52 06 HOSPITAL CORPMAN SECOND CLASS UNITED STATES NAVAL RESERVES for service as set forth in the following CITATION For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action on 16 March 1967 while serving with Company "F", Second Battalion, Seventh Marines, during operations against insurgent Viet Cong forces in the Republic of Vietnam. As senior company corpsman, Petty Officer Simmons, was with the command group on a search and destroy mission in Quant Ngai Province when the rear elements of his company were taken under fire by an estimated Viet Cong battalion and were pinned down in an open rice paddy. Racing toward the paddy to see if help was needed, Petty Officer Simmons learned that there were at least four Maines who required medical assistance. He then broke from his covered position and ran into the open where he was almost immediately wounded in the foot. The air was alive with enemy fire, but he refused assistance and expressed concern only for the other men. Despite the continuing heavy enemy fire, he courageously crawled to a seriously wounded Marine and placed his own body between that of the wounded man and his own and the enemy first. Moments later, Petty Officer Simmons was mortally wounded by a burst of machine gun fire. His exceptional initiative, uncommon daring, and compassion for this wounded comrades were in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Naval service. FOR THE PRESIDENT Paul Robert Ignatius SECRETARY OF THE NAVEY