Robert E. Simanek
United States Marine Corps Medal of Honor recipient
Robert Ernest Simanek (26 April 1930 – 1 August 2022) was a United States Marine and a recipient of the United States military's highest decoration, the Medal of Honor, for his actions during the Korean War.
Early life
Simanek was born in Detroit, Michigan, on 26 April 1930. He graduated from high school there in 1948 and worked for the Ford Motor Company and General Motors, before joining the United States Marine Corps on 13 August 1951.
Marine Corps
Completing recruit training at Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, South Carolina, in October 1951, Simanek was ordered to Camp Pendleton, California, the following month. After further training at Camp Pendleton, he sailed for Korea in April 1952, joining Company F, 2nd Battalion, 5th Marines on 6 May. He had earned two battle stars by the time of his Medal of Honor action.
Simanek was serving with Company F, 2nd Battalion, 5th Marines, 1st Marine Division, when the action occurred on 18 August 1952, during the Battle of Bunker Hill. His patrol had gone well forward of friendly lines to occupy an outpost when the Marines ran into a trap. He threw himself on an enemy grenade to save his comrades, and was severely wounded in the legs.
Simanek received medical treatment aboard the hospital ship USS Haven and in Japan before being returned to the United States in September 1952.
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This entry incorporates text from “Robert E. Simanek” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.