“I couldn’t believe the crowd of people gathered there to welcome us home. What made it even more unbelievable was the hour of the night. Our approximate arrival time was 10:30 p.m., but I think it was closer to 11 p.m., if not later. I’m told these crowds appear at every Honor Flight arrival.”
He added, “I’m heartened by the support our veterans receive from the local folks.”
One of the questions I asked Lt. Col. Simon was his feelings about freedom in the USA and the American flag.
He responded, “As you know I’m a rather patriotic guy. I love my country and the beautiful American flag that represents it. I fly my flag on a pole outside my front door every day to remind me how lucky I am to be an American. I wear my American flag pin when appropriate and I wear it proudly. I volunteered for combat duty in Vietnam because I felt it my duty to do my part to protect my family, my loved ones, my fellow Americans and my country; I would do it again without question. We would not be free Americans had it not been for the terrible sacrifice of our millions of veterans, living and dead. We cannot and must not ever forget what many of them have suffered.”
“I will never forget the experience of having participated in the Honor Flight,” he said. “It continues to remind me that most Americans are thankful for what our veterans represent and are not shy when it comes to express those thanks and gratitude. I highly recommend that any and all veterans participate in an Honor Flight in possible.”
TONY SIMON AND THE MILITARY
Before enlisting in the Air Force, Simon said he had never been in an airplane.
It was while he was in basic training when Simon applied for, and was accepted into the Aviation Cadet program. He completed basic and began pilot and officer training in the Air Force Aviation Cadet program. He trained in small single aircraft as well as World War II B-25’s and B-29’s, and graduated from the program in January of 1956.
He and his wife, Ginny, were married two days after Simon received his wings and 2nd Lieutenant Commission. He was given a choice of assignments in either fighter aircraft or multi-engine transports.
“I chose multi-engine primarily because I thought this would give me a better chance of seeing the world,” he said. “We were transferred to our first permanent assignment in the state of Washington.”
Simon said he flew C-124 Globemasters, the largest transport of its time, at assignments in Washington, Hawaii, Delaware and Oklahoma for the next 10 years.
“As pilots, we were qualified to fly anywhere in the world at any time,” he said. “In 1966, I was selected to instruct other pilots in a new jet transport, the C-141 Starlifter, at Altus Air Force Base in Oklahoma. At Altus, I was an instructor and flight examiner for three years in the C-141.”
Simon recalled numerous memorable missions during his years in transports, including flights to northern Greenland, just 400 miles south of the North Pole; a mission through the restricted corridors in Germany to Berlin; missions to Africa, South America, Australia, Iceland, Europe, Southeast Asia, Japan, Canada, Alaska, numerous islands in the Pacific and Atlantic oceans, “and more.”
“I have experienced on-board fires, hydraulic leaks, oil leaks, fuel leaks, lightning strikes, multiple systems failures, landing gear failures, communications failures, minimum weather conditions, flights through thunderstorms, extreme icing conditions and, of course, engine failures,” he said. “Single engine failures on a mission were common. I very vividly remember a double engine failure, two engines on the same side of a four-engine aircraft.”
“The ultimate heart-thumper was a nighttime bailout of my 13 crew members in the South China Sea.,” Simon said.
In late 1971, Simon volunteered for Special Operations combat duty in Gunship aircraft in Vietnam.
“After stateside training in the gunship, a converted transport aircraft with six side-firing Vulcan rotating barrel 20 mm and 7.62 mm guns and carrying thousands of rounds of ammunition, I first attended an ocean survival course and a jungle survival course in the Philippines before arriving in Vietnam,” he said. “For the next eight months, I flew 120-night combat missions in Vietnam and Laos, where nightly anti-aircraft fire and heat seeking missiles were a constant threat. As the end of the war approached in 1972, since I was the Wing Chief Standardization and Flight Examiner Pilot for the gunship group, I was selected to remain at DaNang Air Base in South Vietnam to train the South Vietnamese Air Force pilots in the operation of the gunship. All the gunships were ultimately transferred to the South Vietnamese Air Force.”
After the Vietnam War, Simon was transferred to Kansas, then to North Carolina as Commander of Mobile Aerial Port Squadron, made up of about 300 officers and enlisted men, including a contingent of Air Force Combat Controllers.
“These were intensely trained and highly qualified special forces airborne troops whose sole purpose was to parachute into forward landing and drop zones to secure them and set up communications for follow-on Army Airborne troop drop missions,” he said.
