Compass Points - PFC Robert E. Simanek
Something about the month of August.
Compass Points - PFC Robert E. Simanek
Something about the month of August.
August 18, 2024
.
Sunday is a good day for reflection and August is an important month for PFC Robert E. Simanek, USMC. Lots of things happened for him and to him in August. His very memorable day happened on August 17, 1952. That was almost exactly 72 years ago. PFC Simanek was in Korea with his fellow Marines, and they were in the fight of their young lives.
.
============
.
Before daybreak on Aug. 17, 1952, six Marines were pinned down on a Korean hilltop after an ambush. Forces from the Chinese-backed government in the north opened up with gunfire. Then came grenades. One landed near Robert Simanek, a 22-year-old private first class in the Marine Corps. He managed to kick it away, but the blast injured his foot. A second grenade fell to his side. “I couldn’t move too well. So I just sort of rolled over on top of that grenade,” he later recounted. Simanek’s legs and hip took most of the blast and the grenade fragments, leaving the other Marines unharmed. The next year, he was presented with the Medal of Honor, the U.S. military’s highest decoration, citing his “daring initiative and great personal valor in the face of almost certain death.”
-- Brian Murphy
.
============
.
Now, 72 years later, the San Diego Union-Tribune is reporting that on August 15, 2024 the 784-foot Expeditionary Sea Base, USNS Robert E. Simanek, left the General Dynamics-NASSCO shipyard in San Diego Bay for its first sea trial. The USNS ship is a non-commissioned vessel that will be operated for the Navy by a civilian crew under the Military Sealift Command. On May 4, 2024 the USNS Simanek was christened in a San Diego ceremony.
.
============
.
SAN DIEGO – General Dynamics NASSCO christened the USNS Robert E. Simanek (ESB 7), the fifth ship for the U.S. Navy’s Expeditionary Sea Base (ESB) program, today [05/04/2024]. The Honorable Sean Coffey, General Counsel of the Navy, served as the principal speaker at the ceremony, in addition to remarks from NASSCO, U.S. Navy, and U.S. Marine Corps representatives. Following remarks, Ann Simanek Clark, ship sponsor and daughter of the ship’s namesake, christened the ship with the traditional champagne bottle break alongside the hull.
“This ship represents the embodiment of American unity and purpose; a beacon of freedom and hope that will carry Robert Simanek’s legacy to people all over the world,” said David Carver, president of General Dynamics NASSCO. “On behalf of the eight thousand employees of General Dynamics NASSCO, I am proud to present the Robert E. Simanek for christening to our sponsor, Ms. Ann Simanek.”
The ship is named for Private First Class Robert Ernest Simanek, who was awarded the Medal of Honor for shielding fellow Marines from a grenade at the Battle of Bunker Hill during the Korean War. The Medal of Honor was presented to him by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in a White House ceremony in 1953.
The ESB ship class is a highly flexible platform designed to support multiple maritime-based missions. ESB ships are mobile sea-based assets and are a part of the critical access infrastructure that supports the deployment of forces, equipment, supplies, and warfighting capability. These 784-foot ships are configured with a 52,000 square-foot flight deck to support MH-53, MH-60, MV-22 tilt-rotor, and H1 aircraft operations.
The USNS Hector A. Cafferata Jr. (ESB 8), the sixth ship in the ESB program, is scheduled to be christened in 2025. The first four ships in the ESB program – USS Lewis B. Puller (ESB 3), USS Hershel “Woody” Williams (ESB 4), USS Miguel Keith (ESB 5), and USS John L. Canley (ESB 6) – have been delivered to the U.S. Navy.
-- NASSCO
.
============
.
The growing number of Military Sealift Command, Expeditionary Sea Base ships makes the United States stronger. The Marine Corps needs the support of more Expeditionary Sea Base ships like the USNS Robert E. Simanek (ESB 7). The ESBs can serve as pre-positioning ships, loaded with the equipment and supplies that a deployed MEU needs when a crisis begins to grow. When the MEU arrives offshore of a nation in crisis, the MEU can be rapidly augmented if there is a fully loaded ship like the USNS Robert E. Simanek nearby. Using both the ESB and Marine fly-in-echelons, the small MEU can rapidly and dramatically expand.
Compass Points salutes both PFC Robert E. Simanek himself as well as all those who will benefit from the Expeditionary Sea Base, USNS Robert E. Simanek. August is an important month for PFC Simanek. Lots of things happened for him and to him in August. The ship named after him conducted its first sea trials on August 15, 2024. Years before, on another August, August 17, 1952, PFC Simanek was in Korea with his fellow Marines, in the fight of their lives. On that day back in Korea, PFC Simanek kicked away one grenade to save his fellow Marines and then rolled over on the next grenade. It is obvious what happened to PFC Simanek. Or is it? After rolling over on the grenade and shielding his fellow Marines from the blast, PFC Simanek lived until he was 92. He died on August 1, 2022.
The Korean War was a surprise 70 years ago. The next surprise for the Marine Corps and for the Nation is just out of sight, around the corner. If the Marine Corps is going to be prepared for the next crisis, it will need more strong ships like the USNS Robert E. Simanek. And the Marine Corps will need more strong Marines like PFC Robert E. Simanek. May God bless the Marine Corps with both.
.
- - - - -
.
Stars and Stripes (Washington Post) - 08/03/2022
Robert Simanek, Medal of Honor recipient from Korean War, dies at 92
By Brian Murphy, The Washington Post
.
- - - - -
.
NASSCO - 05/04/2024
General Dynamics NASSCO Christens the Fifth Ship in the ESB Program for the U.S. Navy
I had the honor of growing up in the same neighborhood where PFC Simanek lived in the 60’s and 70’s. He was just a regular guy, but every Memorial Day he would put on his MOH and ride in the parade. My father had deep respect for him and told us his story. He also told us not to bother him with any questions, just always be respectful. He was one of my earliest inspirations to join the Marine Corps. Thanks for sharing this story. I had not thought of him for a long time.