William Simpson
Private 1st Class
US Army, 45th Division, Infantry
1943-1945, Africa, Italy, France
Private 1st Class
US Army, 45th Division, Infantry
1943-1945, Africa, Italy, France
William Simpson was born in May of 1925 In Raleigh, NC. He graduated from High School in May 1943 and shortly thereafter was drafted. Bill went to Anniston, AL. for basic training and then shipped out to Casablanca. From there he went to Oran and then on to Naples where he joined the 45th Infantry. He traveled to Anzio Beach in February 1944 and he was made First Scout. The previous First Scout returned to the US to receive the Congressional Medal of Honor.
While at Anzio an .88 shell hit his foxhole and he was struck in the scalp by shrapnel. The other two GI’s in his foxhole were buried. He dug them out. He was sent to a house in the rear to wait to be sent to a MASH Unit for medical treatment. “There was a German on the cot facing me…we never acknowledged each other.” He was sent to a MASH unit and had the shrapnel removed. While in the MASH unit bill recalled General Mark Clark coming through to speak to the wounded GI’s. Bill was then sent back to Naples to recover in a hospital there. One day a man came into the hospital and was speaking to all of the wounded GI’s. He came to Bill’s bed and said, “I’m giving a performance across the street this afternoon and I would like you to come”. Bill said, “I would love to come. Who are you?” The man said, “I’m Irv, Irving Berlin.” Bill went across the road to watch the performance and the next day a Captain came into his hospital ward and said, “Simpson, didn’t I see you at the Irving Berlin performance?” Bill said, “why yes Sir I was, and it was great”. “If you’re well enough to watch Irving Berlin your well enough to go back to your unit.” Back to Anzio Bill went.
“I was order to lead a patrol. I saw a German on his knees looking into a mirror and shaving. Upon closer inspection the German was dead. Hit by a shrapnel blast.” While on patrol they ran into a German tiger tank. The Germans saw them, but their machine gun jammed, so they fired an .88 shell at them that exploded behind them. Bill was again hit with Shrapnel. This time in his back. He was sent to a hospital in Naples to recover.
When he returned to unit, they were in Salerno training for the invasion of Southern France. This was August of 1944. On August 15th the invasion began. Bill recalled climbing over the side of the vessel they were on, climbing down nets and into LST’s. They landed on the beach with no resistance. As they moved inland, they made contact with the Germans. “As I was going up the ditch, I heard a couple of thuds…I turn to look up and saw a German shooting at me, but he missed. He must have been the cook. How could he have missed me?” “Our objective was to take the little town of Sainte-Maxime.” Bill was leading and walked into the town square but there was no one in sight. Suddenly the doors opened up and all of the residents came into the streets. The mayor said to Bill in perfect English, “we were expecting you yesterday”. Bill said, “I’m sorry we are late.” Bill recalled the French pulling women into the square and shaving their heads. They were traitors.
While in France Bill recalled coming upon several men in American uniforms. Suddenly they opened fire on Bills unit killing three men including his friend, Jessie Stancil from Raleigh. Later in the Lorraine area of France, Bill ran into 16 German soldiers and ordered them to drop their weapons and surrender. They did and he marched them to the prison area and the whole time he was carrying on a conversation with an imaginary George and Jack to make the Germans think he wasn’t alone. He captured 16 Germans with only 8 bullets in his gun and he was 19 years old.
One day bill and a Forward Artillery Observer were preparing to call in an artillery strike when a jeep pulled up and two men got out. It was Jack Haley, the Tin Man from the Wizard of Oz, and his driver. They had come to entertain and asked what Bill was doing. Bill pointed to the German soldiers on the hill they were targeting. They both jumped back in the jeep and Haley yelled, “if you ever get to Hollywood, look us up.”
In December of 1944 Bill and his unit entered Germany. Once again Bill was hit with shrapnel and was taken back to Dijon for surgery on his foot on Christmas eve. That ended his war career and from there he was put on a hospital boat and arrived in Charleston, SC on the day President Roosevelt died. While in a hospital in South Carolina recovering from his wounds he met Helen Keller. Bill earned 3 Purple Hearts, a Bronze Star and 3 Battle Stars, which cost him two toes.
Bill went on to attend Wake Forest and then Columbia University. He later held numerous management positions in corporate America and eventually became the Secretary of North Carolina State University. Along the way he married Edith in 1949, his wife of 70 years!
His most vivid memory was the night he came home to 1812 Park Drive in Raleigh. He paid the cab driver and the driver waited until the porch light to came on. The light came on, the cabbie said welcome home and he drove off
While at Anzio an .88 shell hit his foxhole and he was struck in the scalp by shrapnel. The other two GI’s in his foxhole were buried. He dug them out. He was sent to a house in the rear to wait to be sent to a MASH Unit for medical treatment. “There was a German on the cot facing me…we never acknowledged each other.” He was sent to a MASH unit and had the shrapnel removed. While in the MASH unit bill recalled General Mark Clark coming through to speak to the wounded GI’s. Bill was then sent back to Naples to recover in a hospital there. One day a man came into the hospital and was speaking to all of the wounded GI’s. He came to Bill’s bed and said, “I’m giving a performance across the street this afternoon and I would like you to come”. Bill said, “I would love to come. Who are you?” The man said, “I’m Irv, Irving Berlin.” Bill went across the road to watch the performance and the next day a Captain came into his hospital ward and said, “Simpson, didn’t I see you at the Irving Berlin performance?” Bill said, “why yes Sir I was, and it was great”. “If you’re well enough to watch Irving Berlin your well enough to go back to your unit.” Back to Anzio Bill went.
“I was order to lead a patrol. I saw a German on his knees looking into a mirror and shaving. Upon closer inspection the German was dead. Hit by a shrapnel blast.” While on patrol they ran into a German tiger tank. The Germans saw them, but their machine gun jammed, so they fired an .88 shell at them that exploded behind them. Bill was again hit with Shrapnel. This time in his back. He was sent to a hospital in Naples to recover.
When he returned to unit, they were in Salerno training for the invasion of Southern France. This was August of 1944. On August 15th the invasion began. Bill recalled climbing over the side of the vessel they were on, climbing down nets and into LST’s. They landed on the beach with no resistance. As they moved inland, they made contact with the Germans. “As I was going up the ditch, I heard a couple of thuds…I turn to look up and saw a German shooting at me, but he missed. He must have been the cook. How could he have missed me?” “Our objective was to take the little town of Sainte-Maxime.” Bill was leading and walked into the town square but there was no one in sight. Suddenly the doors opened up and all of the residents came into the streets. The mayor said to Bill in perfect English, “we were expecting you yesterday”. Bill said, “I’m sorry we are late.” Bill recalled the French pulling women into the square and shaving their heads. They were traitors.
While in France Bill recalled coming upon several men in American uniforms. Suddenly they opened fire on Bills unit killing three men including his friend, Jessie Stancil from Raleigh. Later in the Lorraine area of France, Bill ran into 16 German soldiers and ordered them to drop their weapons and surrender. They did and he marched them to the prison area and the whole time he was carrying on a conversation with an imaginary George and Jack to make the Germans think he wasn’t alone. He captured 16 Germans with only 8 bullets in his gun and he was 19 years old.
One day bill and a Forward Artillery Observer were preparing to call in an artillery strike when a jeep pulled up and two men got out. It was Jack Haley, the Tin Man from the Wizard of Oz, and his driver. They had come to entertain and asked what Bill was doing. Bill pointed to the German soldiers on the hill they were targeting. They both jumped back in the jeep and Haley yelled, “if you ever get to Hollywood, look us up.”
In December of 1944 Bill and his unit entered Germany. Once again Bill was hit with shrapnel and was taken back to Dijon for surgery on his foot on Christmas eve. That ended his war career and from there he was put on a hospital boat and arrived in Charleston, SC on the day President Roosevelt died. While in a hospital in South Carolina recovering from his wounds he met Helen Keller. Bill earned 3 Purple Hearts, a Bronze Star and 3 Battle Stars, which cost him two toes.
Bill went on to attend Wake Forest and then Columbia University. He later held numerous management positions in corporate America and eventually became the Secretary of North Carolina State University. Along the way he married Edith in 1949, his wife of 70 years!
His most vivid memory was the night he came home to 1812 Park Drive in Raleigh. He paid the cab driver and the driver waited until the porch light to came on. The light came on, the cabbie said welcome home and he drove off