Gerald L Simmons
Military ROLL OF HONOURShot down 6 March 1943 in B-17F 42-5130 'Sweet Pea', 306BG/367BS while serving as Co-Pilot. The aircraft was on a mission to bomb the submarines pens at Lorient, France. Flak caused damage to aircraft and a bailout was necessary. Simmons was already injured with bleeding from the head when he landed. Before bailout, he promised pilot Ryan he would meet him in London. A German soldier ordered him to halt which he did not obey and he was shot and killed and buried in the St. Jean-Trolimon Cemetery. His body was removed from St. Jean-Trolimon Cemetery in 1946 and placed in an American military cemetery in France after Brtittany was liberated by the Americans. After the war, his remains were shipped back to the US to be reinterned in Utah.
Connections
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Units served with
- Unit Hierarchy: Group
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
- Type Category: Bombardment
- Unit Hierarchy: Squadron
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
- Type Category: Bombardment
Aircraft
- Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
- Nicknames: Sweet Pea
- Unit: 306th Bomb Group 367th Bomb Squadron
Missions
- Date: 6 March 1943
Places
![A bomber crew of the 306th Bomb Group wave to Picture Post Girls in front of a B-17 Flying Fortress (serial number 41-24471) nicknamed "Four of a Kind" at Thurleigh in December 1942. Image stamped on reverse: '"Picture Post" [stamp], 'Passed for Publication 11 Dec 1942.' [stamp], '238038.' [Censor no.] Handwritten in censor's blue pencil on reverse: 'American Flying Fortress crew are introduced to the girls they will meet at Picture Post Xmas Party.'](https://assets.americanairmuseum.com/s3fs-public/styles/teaser_thumb_x2/public/freeman/media-379028.jpg.webp?itok=6Gc6iR0j)
- Site type: Airfield
- Known as: Bedford
Events
| Event | Location | Date | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Born |
Payson, Utah | 3 March 1915 | |
|
Buried |
Saint-Jean-Trolimon, France | 6 April 1943 | Buried by the Germans in the chruchyard cemetery at St. Jean-Trolimon, Finstere, France. Later at Brittany American Cemetery and finally his remains repatriated to the United States for interment at Payson, Utah. |
|
Other Killed in Action (KIA) |
Saint-Jean-Trolimon, France | 6 March 1943 | Shot by a German sergeant when he refused to halt and be captured. |
Revisions
Lee Cunningham 29-Jul-2015. Made connections to Place and Mission within existing website data; Added KIA note and edits to Summary Biography based on "Losses of the 8th & 9th Air Forces", Stan Bishop & John A. Hey, MBE.
Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / MACR 15568 / MACR 15568, Losses of the 8th and 9th AFs Vol. I by Bishop and Hey p. 89, First Over Germany by Russell Strong pp. 74-6 / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database