Frank H. Simonds – Lieutenant Colonel, United States Marine Corps

From a contemporary press report:

Frank H. Simonds Sr., 85, a retired Lieutenant Colonel in the Marine Corps, died March 31, 2004, at the Mayfair House in Berryville, Virginia. He had Alzheimer’s disease.

Colonel Simonds was born in Sparta, Illinois, and graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1941, the same year he joined the Marine Corps.

During World War II, he was a bomber and fighter pilot in the Pacific theater, flying out of the Solomon Islands, including Guadalcanal, Bougainville and Munda. Colonel Simonds also served in the Korean War as a night fighter pilot. He was commanding officer of several fighter squadrons after the Korean War.

His decorations included the Silver Star, the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Air Medal. He retired from the Marine Corps in 1966.

Colonel Simonds then worked for Control Data Corp. until his retirement in 1988, when he was the eastern and southeastern regional administration manager.

He lived in Annandale for 22 years and Oakton for 15 years.

Survivors include his wife of 48 years, Bobbie Simonds of Woodbridge; a son, Marine Lieutenant Colonel Frank H. Simonds Jr. of Woodbridge; a daughter, Kelley Simonds Hardison of Camp Lejeune, North Carolina; a brother; a sister; and three grandchildren.

SIMONDS, FRANK H
LT COL US MARINE CORPS

• VETERAN SERVICE DATES: 03/22/1941 – 10/31/1966
• DATE OF BIRTH: 10/01/1918
• DATE OF DEATH: 03/31/2004
• DATE OF INTERMENT: 05/19/2004
• BURIED AT: SECTION 66  SITE 4505

Michael Robert Patterson

Michael Robert Patterson was born in Arlington and is the son of a former officer of the US Army. So it was no wonder that sooner or later his interests drew him to American history and especially to American military history. Many of his articles can be found on renowned portals like the New York Times, Washingtonpost or Wikipedia.

Reviewed by: Michael Howard