A Son's Tribute

This past Monday at the GHS Veterans Tribute we met Mr. Richard D. Simms.  Mr. Simms is a very interesting man and his story is a good one.  I told him I would take his picture and put it on the internet with his story.  Mr. Simms is not a veteran but he participates in veterans activities in the area in honor of his dad who died on a ship when Richard was a little boy.

Steve and Mr. Simms sitting next to one of our Student Council guides.  This is one of the two notebooks Mr. Simms has made honoring his dad.  The student council guides are looking at the other one.

When the ship was bombed, Mr. Simms dad died while saving the lives of others.  The jacket he is wearing in these pictures is from one of the men his dad saved.  He said that when he got the jacket he called the gentleman and asked why he would send the jacket to him.  The man's answer was a simple, honest one; "Your dad saved my life.  I want you to have this jacket."  So this is about three good men, Mr. Richard Simms, Richard's father, and the original owner of the jacket.

This magazine article is the story of Mr. Black, the man who gave Mr. Simms his jacket.  This is a picture of the ship and the incident that cost the elder Mr. Simms his life.

Mr. Richard Simms, a man dedicated to the memory of his father.

 

Mr. Simms holding the page of him and his father, both in their Navy Dress.

 

He said his mother never wanted to talk about the events that changed their world.  But several years later, she gave him all the things she had kept.  One of my favorite things I saw in the books was a letter he had written to his dad.  It was printed in childish letters and he had drawn pictures of airplanes across the top (the USS Franklin was an aircraft carrier).  There were also letters from his dad that were printed neatly so he could read them.  He is a touching tribute to a dad taken from him too soon.

 

I can't remember for sure but I believe he told me he was 8 when his dad died.  He plays the banjo at the D/FW airport USO club for active duty personnel who come through the airport on their trips to and from the war zones. You just know his dad would be so proud of the man he became and his dedication to veterans and their causes.

 

Mr. Richard D. Simms it was a pleasure meeting you!