Uncle Simon

"Mom always talked about him and wanted us to know the story of Uncle Simon."Many years ago, in the icy waters off of Ponte du Hoc   Normandy, France, a tragedy was about to unfold. On duty on the LST523 (Landing Ship Tank) was a young man from the hills of the Big Creek Valley in Newton County, Arkansas. What was about to happen would be a tragedy that would send shockwaves through his family and the close knit community he was raised in.

This is the story of Private Simon Maberry.On May 14,1924, in Newton County, Abe and Elizabeth (Ricketts) Maberry welcomed a healthy baby boy into the world. They named him Simon. Simon's life was typical of the Ozark mountain boy of the time, running and playing and working on the farm with his father.I should mention here that Elizabeth was married first to John Arwood, and their children would be extremely close to their later siblings. From her first marriage she had the following children; an infant daughter (1908), William (1908-1987), Elva (1911-1985), Garlin (1913-1987), Vernia (1916-2001), Austin (1921-1972), and two other infant sons (1922 and 1923). The family all says that they never spoke of 'half' siblings, only siblings. They were truly a close knit family!

On December 10, 1926, Elizabeth and Abe would welcome a daughter into the world. They would name her Bessie, and her and Simon would be fast friends. At the age of around ten, Simon, working with a pocketknife, carved a set of eating utensils, a fork and knife, out of wood, for his younger sister to use. The family still has them in their possession, a reminder of the tender hearted young man who looked out for his sister his whole life. Their relationship as siblings would be one of love and admiration, as it always should be.

Bessie recalled her older brother as 'a tall, blonde-headed, blue eyed guy. He was very, very friendly and almost always had a smile. He was a good hearted person and if he had one apple, he would give half of it to his buddy. He loved to play the guitar and could play any song after he heard it a time or two without reading the music.'The Maberry family continued to grow, with John being born on September 6, 1928. However, following this they would lose their next children; Vercie Gertrude (March 29, 1930-August 30, 1930), an infant son (1932) and infant twin sons (1934). But despite the heartbreak of losing so many, their first three children grew strong and healthy. Here, on the Maberry farm, Simon would grow into a young man.Then, as it far too often does, a war would change everything.

Here, nearly eighty years after the event, I find myself speaking with Teresa Coonts, a daughter of Bessie, who was more than helpful in telling me Simon's story and sharing so much information about the uncle she never knew.As we talk, I feel Simon's journey begin to come together. She sends me a few photos of him, and I'm struck by his blue eyes that seem to shine out of lightly colored photos of his time in the military. Simon left us long ago, but speaking with his family, I can tell he never left them. Even now, his story is recent to the family, and it was especially so with Bessie.

Looking at the photo, I see a good looking young man from the hills of my home that would end up so far away from us. However, we are still a ways away from that fateful June day off the coast of Normandy. After the attack on Pearl Harbor and the United State's official entry into the war, the ranks of the Army began to fill. Simon would step up and be sent to Camp Robinson, where he would shortly join the 300th Engineers Battalion. The family has a postcard from March 2, 1943, giving his residence as Camp Robinson. By March 31, 1943, he was in Camp White, Oregon. He was there until at least October 5, 1943, when he sent a postcard. The official report of the 300th shows they departed Camp White on November 7, 1943. But from here Simon becomes hard to track. The United States High Command was working on a very secretive plan; Operation Neptune, which would involve the invasion of the French mainland to bring the war to Hitler. The 300th would be a part of this operation.

At some point the men were shipped by train from Camp White to New York, everything being kept very quiet about their movements to ensure secrecy. Some time after this (one official report says they departed New York on November 23, 1943, but another says December 3), he was shipped to Scotland with the 300th on the Queen Elizabeth, landing at Gourock, on December 9, 1943. The 300th then boarded trains for an all night trip to Reading, England, and then moved by truck to Devises, England arriving there on December 12. While in England, they were kept busy with projects at Bristol, Westbury and Sparkford, among other locations, building camps and railheads, as well as roads.

In May of 1944, the men and equipment were divided into three groups, each with men from Companies A, B, and C along with Headquarters and Service Company, in the event that if a team was lost in the journey, no company would be incapacitated. The wait for the invasion began in earnest, but they would not have to wait long. While he was stationed in England, he received a gift from his sister, Bessie; a beautiful leather wallet. She recalled 'He was in England and in a letter I asked him what he would like to have for his birthday that was May 14, in his next letter he asked me to find him a good leather wallet.' Nobody could have known, but May 14, 1944 was the last birthday Simon would have here on this earth.June 6, 1944 saw the opening of the long awaited and planned Operation Neptune, or as it is popularly known, 'D Day.'

The onslaught was successful, with the Americans landing on three designated beaches at Normandy: Omaha, Utah and Pointe du Hoc. The invasion, and the end game of the European theatre, had begun.June 8th and 9th saw the 300th, in first and second echelons, leave camp at Chisledon, England by motor convoy. Simon would be in the second echelon.

The first echelon arrived near Carentan, France, at 1000 hours on June 16. The second left their camp in England and arrived at the marshalling area at 1045 hours the same day.

To make the trip from England to France, they would employ the LST (Landing Ship Tank), a specially designed ship that was made for landing troops, tanks and vehicles, as well as cargo. They were widely used in all theatres of the Second World War (they were designed specifically for this conflict) for shore landings, among other things. The craft that Simon would board for the journey would be the LST523.

In the early hours of June 18, the second echelon of the 300th would take a motor convoy to Plymouth, England, arriving at 0130. One hundred and ninety five enlisted men and six officers of the 300th, along with forty Navy personnel who manned the craft, boarded at 0630 hours. They left for France at 2100 hours. As if a warning, the weather suddenly erupted into gale force winds, creating eight foot waves and 'the most severe June gale in forty years.' Inside LST523, the men rocked and rolled and endured the rough crossing. However, there was another danger lurking. One that would soon appear with tragic consequences: enemy mines, which the Germans had planted long before D Day occurred. They were still a very real threat.Simon and his comrades were now sailing towards Utah Beach. 

On June 13, 1943, Simon wrote a letter from England to Gene Smith, back home in Vendor. In it, he speaks of the war, and seeing the air craft firing: 'it is about time to kill eather be killed. I rather get the hell out but I have set my head to stay until things changed.'

Simon would keep his word.

The following numbered points were taken from the action log of June 19, 1944 from the LST523.

'1. On 19 June, 1944, at 1245, orders were received from Convoy Commander to anchor in anchorage area of UTAH beach.'

'My father gave me some money and told me to go to town and find the best wallet I could.'

'2. At 1300, orders from the USS BAYFIELD directed us to the beach prior to 1300.'

'I went into Harrison, Arkansas to Moore Brother's Grocery and I found a nice wallet.'

'3. at 1303 dropped anchor in ten fathoms of water to swing ship in order to make proper approach for beaching.'

'Before the girl wrapped it up to mail it I decided to fill out the ID card that came with it.'

'4. at 1310 underway proceeding to beach.'

'In the space that said "In Case of Emergency" I wrote 'Please notify A. Maberry at Vendor, Arkansas.'

'5. at 1315 terrific explosion of mine. The ship broke in two just forward of the superstructure; the stern stopped dead in the water and began to settle. The bow continued to make headway for approximately six hundred yards.'

The investigation report states:

'5 DECEMBER 1944: In compliance with 3rdIndorsement to letter AGO, subject: Determination of Status, file AG PC-S 201 Alexander, Clifford C. (6 Nov 44) the following information regarding the reporting of Tec 5 Clifford C. Alexander, and others, formerly of this organization, as missing in action 19 June is submitted.

Tec 5 Clifford C. Alexander, was, on 19 June 1944, a member of the 300th Engineer Combat Battalion and as such at that time was enroute to France together with 194 of our enlisted men and six officers comprising the second wave of the 300th Engineer Combat Battalion. This group of personnel loaded onboard LST 523 on 18 June 1944 shortly before noon at Portsmouth, England, and proceeded during the night of 18-19 June to Utah Beach, north of Carentan, France. The ship arrived about a mile to a mile and a half off the beach some time about 1200 B 19 June and dropped anchor, apparently to await the tide in order to beach properly. About 1300 B the anchor was weighed, and the ship started toward the beach and had been underway several minutes when a tremendous explosion occurred somewhat aft of the center of the ship.

The explosion was apparently caused by some type of underwater mine. The force of the blast was exerted in such a manner as to lift up the center of the ship very forcibly, at the same time imparting a rolling motion above that caused by the waves due to the excentric point of the blast. Apparently the bottom of the ship was broken in such a manner as to permit the ship to bend at the point of blast, with the deck acting as a hinge. The upward motion was felt most by the persons nearest the center of the ship, those towards the stern and bow not being subject to such severe thrust. The center of the ship dropped back, filling with water and assuming a position in which the bow and stern were higher than the center. This flexing of the center of the ship broke the portion of the ship's center structure remaining after the blast so that the bow and stern separated. After the separation the stern section being the smaller, with the open end low and in the direction of motion, stopped and settled rapidly, forward part first. The water at this point was probably only slightly deeper than the height of the ship from keel to top of deck structure so that the forward of the stern piece was resting on the bottom before the fantail went under. The stern piece was completely underwater within 15 minutes after the explosion. The front section with the open end away from the direction of motion, settled gradually and did not come to a complete halt until the bow grounded on a bar. The front section came to rest with about the front 50 feet of the deck remaining out of the water with the forepeak about 8 feet out of water.'

LTC523 had been blown into two pieces by the mine. Many men were killed in the horrific explosion, while many more were flung into the stormy waters below. Chaos reigned as many close by boats attempted to pull the men from the cold waters around the wreckage.

Among the dead was our young man from the hills, Private Simon Maberry.

'It was in October that we got a letter from a lady in Searcy County, the next county over from Newton County, saying that her son had heled bury Simon. When her son came home in the following year he asked his mother to let us know the story. My parents went down to see her and she told them that their son, C.C. O'Neal, was a sailor on a Navy ship in the English Channel after the invasion and some of the men saw a soldier floating in the water. She said her son and a soldier from California volunteered to retrieve the body, wrapped him in a flag and buried him on Utah Beach. The dog tags were missing but they found a wallet with an ID card with "In Case of Emergency Notify A. Maberry, Vendor, Arkansas." Later, we got a letter that his body had been moved to the American Cemetery in LeHavre, France. Some of our neighbors went to France years later and took a picture of Simon's grave. If I hadn't filled out that ID card, we would never have known what happened. I thank God every day that I did that.'

Bessie continues 'It wasn't much later that someone came to the house. Mother and I were canning green beans and I stayed in the kitchen while Mother went out. I heard someone speak to her saying "Miss Maberry, got something for you and I hope it's something good." But I knew right away it was something bad because we had quit getting letters. I turned off the stove because you know you have to watch the pressure cooker. The men were Newton County Sheriff, Frank Cheatham, and Newton County Judge, Will Young from the County Court House in Jasper, Arkansas. I walked up close to Mother and the sheriff handed me the telegram to read. When I saw what it said, I said to the sheriff that "I couldn't read it to Mother so you read it to her." He took it and read that Simon was missing in action. He said we should have some hope because maybe he was a prisoner but it wasn't long before we got another telegram in August that said he had been killed in action during the invasion.'

Simon was buried in the Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial in Colleville-sur-Mer, Departement du Calvados, Basse-Normandie, France. His cross, among so many others, is a monument to a blue eyed boy from the hills of home. It reads 'SIMON MABERRY, PVT 300 ENGR COMBAT BN ARKANSAS JUNE 19 1944.'

Simon was yet another Newton County boy who gave his life without complaint for what he believed. He died as a man should, with his face to the enemy and his heart and mind dedicated to what he felt to be right. He was a hero, though he never thought of himself as such, yet he was. Bessie would spend many years remembering her older brother who died so far from home, and spend countless hours contacting people who knew something of the tragedy of the LST523, speaking with many of them and learning all she could of the tragedy that took her brother's life.

I also would like to thank Simon's niece, Teresa Coonts, who was so gracious and helpful to me while trying to tell Simon's story. Though it has a sad ending, it is still truly a story worth telling. We all owe Simon a debt of gratitude, for his life and his sacrifice, as well as Bessie and Teresa, who refused to let Uncle Simon's story fade, even nearly a century later.

The man who smiles back from the faded old photographs is no stranger to them or us; he is Uncle Simon.

The fortunes of war are rarely glorious, and even when they are, they are still costly.

The sun sets over the Big Creek valley, Simon's home of so many years ago, as I gaze across it, not far from where he was raised. I well remember Gene Smith, the man that Simon wrote to in his letter home. The last one, less than a week before his death. As I look over the cursive pencil marks from so many decades ago, I think perhaps I should close this story as he wrote himself, so many years ago:

'I come over and my part is gone to be done before I go back. I wish all the rest was that way, if they was this war would be over in a few days. Well Gene I had better close for this time, hoping to meet you again soon.

Your friend,

Simon Maberry

Written by Travis Holt, March 15, 2024