Arthur D. Simons
United States Army officer
Died when: 60 years 327 days (730 months)Star Sign: Cancer
Arthur D. "Bull" Simons (June 28, 1918 – May 21, 1979) was a United States Army Special Forces colonel best known for leading the Sơn Tây raid, an attempted rescue of U.S. prisoners of war during the Vietnam War from a North Vietnamese prison at Sơn Tây.
He also led the successful 1979 rescue of two employees of Electronic Data Systems from prison in Iran.Although serving 30 years as an officer spanning three wars, Simons was deemed not to fit the "career mold" for a general officer and did not rise above the rank of colonel.
An Air Force officer who helped plan and execute the Sơn Tây raid wrote of Simons: "He was not out to make a name for himself; he was there to do his duty.
He did not attend all the professional advancement schools and did not cultivate any sponsors for his career.He just answered every call because it was the right thing for an American soldier to do."
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