Dan
07-16-2006, 15:36
Scholtes, Meadows receive Simons Award
Tech. Sgt. Jim Moser, USSOCOM/PA
Since 1990, the “Bull” Simons award has been presented during SOF Mess Night. The 2005 Bull Simons’ Award winner is retired Maj. Gen. Richard Scholtes, and the 2006 winner is Maj. Richard “Dick” Meadows.
The award recognizes recipients who embody “the true spirit, values, and skills of a special operations warrior,” and Col. Arthur “Bull” Simons, whom the award is named after, is the epitome of these attributes. A career Soldier, Simons led special operations in World War II and Vietnam. Born in New York City in 1918, Simons graduated from the University of Missouri in 1941 with a degree in journalism and served in the Pacific theater in World War II. He rose to company commander in the 6th Ranger Battalion and participated in several amphibious landings in the Philippines. On one noteworthy occasion, he and his men scaled a steep oceanside cliff under cover of darkness and overwhelmed a garrison of Japanese soldiers at the Suluan lighthouse.
Simons left the Army after World War II, but returned to duty in 1951. He completed the Special Forces Officers Qualification Course in 1958 and took command of a detachment in the 77th SF Group (Airborne). From 1961 to 1962, as head of the White Star Mobile Training Team, he served as the senior military advisor to the Royal Lao Army. His familiarity with the region would prove useful a few years later. In 1965, Simons returned to Southeast Asia as a member of Military Assistance Command Vietnam’s Studies and Observations Group (MACV-SOG). Serving under then Col. Donald Blackburn, Simons commanded OP-35, one of three operational directorates within SOG. For approximately two years, he led OP-35 on an interdiction campaign against the North Vietnamese Army (NVA) along the Ho Chi Minh Trail in Laos and Cambodia. OP-35 interdicted the trail by inserting “hatchet” teams and reconnaissance teams. The hatchet teams, composed of Nung or Montagnard tribesmen led by a Special Forces NCO, conducted hit-and-run raids against NVA units, and the recon teams ran long range patrols scouting the
trail, but also “snatched” prisoners when the opportunity arose.
Simons left Vietnam in 1966, but returned four years later as the Deputy Commander of Joint Contingency Task Group Ivory Coast — the Son Tay Raiders. The task force, commanded by Brig. Gen. Leroy J. Manor, U.S. Air Force, was formed in the spring of 1970 after American intelligence had identified Son Tay Prison, near Hanoi, as a prisoner of war detention camp. After six months of planning and rehearsals, the task force deployed to Thailand on Nov. 18.
Two nights later the task force flew into North Vietnam. The assault group, led by Capt. Dick Meadows, landed in the prison compound and killed about 50 NVA guards, but found the compound to be otherwise abandoned. Meanwhile, Simons had landed with the support group in an adjacent school compound, which was teeming with Russian and Chinese soldiers. Simons and his team killed or repelled hundreds of these soldiers, eliminating the principal threat to the assault group. The raiders executed the entire operation in 28 minutes, successfully faced an enemy force of approximately 350 men, and left with only 2 injuries. Although the raid at Son Tay failed to accomplish its principal objective, it sent a clear message to North Vietnam, and the treatment of American prisoners improved somewhat thereafter.
Simons retired from the Army in 1971, but he was to conduct one more special mission. In 1979, Mr. H. Ross Perot asked Simons to rescue two of his employees; the Iranian revolutionary regime was holding them in a Tehran prison and was demanding a $13 million dollar ransom. In April of that year, Simons led a civilian rescue party into Iran and safely extracted the American hostages. Just one month later, Simons suffered a massive heart attack and died.
The previous award recipients are: Mr. H. Ross Perot, Gen. Edward “Shy” Meyer, The Honorable John O. Marsh, Jr., Col. Aaron Bank, Lt. Gen. Samuel V. Wilson, Lt. Gen. Leroy Manor, the Honorable Sam Nunn, the Honorable William S. Cohen, Gen. James Lindsay, Maj. Gen. John R. Alison, Col. Charlie Beckwith, Brig Gen. Harry “Heinie” Aderholdt and Command Sgt. Maj. Ernest Tabata.
Tech. Sgt. Jim Moser, USSOCOM/PA
Since 1990, the “Bull” Simons award has been presented during SOF Mess Night. The 2005 Bull Simons’ Award winner is retired Maj. Gen. Richard Scholtes, and the 2006 winner is Maj. Richard “Dick” Meadows.
The award recognizes recipients who embody “the true spirit, values, and skills of a special operations warrior,” and Col. Arthur “Bull” Simons, whom the award is named after, is the epitome of these attributes. A career Soldier, Simons led special operations in World War II and Vietnam. Born in New York City in 1918, Simons graduated from the University of Missouri in 1941 with a degree in journalism and served in the Pacific theater in World War II. He rose to company commander in the 6th Ranger Battalion and participated in several amphibious landings in the Philippines. On one noteworthy occasion, he and his men scaled a steep oceanside cliff under cover of darkness and overwhelmed a garrison of Japanese soldiers at the Suluan lighthouse.
Simons left the Army after World War II, but returned to duty in 1951. He completed the Special Forces Officers Qualification Course in 1958 and took command of a detachment in the 77th SF Group (Airborne). From 1961 to 1962, as head of the White Star Mobile Training Team, he served as the senior military advisor to the Royal Lao Army. His familiarity with the region would prove useful a few years later. In 1965, Simons returned to Southeast Asia as a member of Military Assistance Command Vietnam’s Studies and Observations Group (MACV-SOG). Serving under then Col. Donald Blackburn, Simons commanded OP-35, one of three operational directorates within SOG. For approximately two years, he led OP-35 on an interdiction campaign against the North Vietnamese Army (NVA) along the Ho Chi Minh Trail in Laos and Cambodia. OP-35 interdicted the trail by inserting “hatchet” teams and reconnaissance teams. The hatchet teams, composed of Nung or Montagnard tribesmen led by a Special Forces NCO, conducted hit-and-run raids against NVA units, and the recon teams ran long range patrols scouting the
trail, but also “snatched” prisoners when the opportunity arose.
Simons left Vietnam in 1966, but returned four years later as the Deputy Commander of Joint Contingency Task Group Ivory Coast — the Son Tay Raiders. The task force, commanded by Brig. Gen. Leroy J. Manor, U.S. Air Force, was formed in the spring of 1970 after American intelligence had identified Son Tay Prison, near Hanoi, as a prisoner of war detention camp. After six months of planning and rehearsals, the task force deployed to Thailand on Nov. 18.
Two nights later the task force flew into North Vietnam. The assault group, led by Capt. Dick Meadows, landed in the prison compound and killed about 50 NVA guards, but found the compound to be otherwise abandoned. Meanwhile, Simons had landed with the support group in an adjacent school compound, which was teeming with Russian and Chinese soldiers. Simons and his team killed or repelled hundreds of these soldiers, eliminating the principal threat to the assault group. The raiders executed the entire operation in 28 minutes, successfully faced an enemy force of approximately 350 men, and left with only 2 injuries. Although the raid at Son Tay failed to accomplish its principal objective, it sent a clear message to North Vietnam, and the treatment of American prisoners improved somewhat thereafter.
Simons retired from the Army in 1971, but he was to conduct one more special mission. In 1979, Mr. H. Ross Perot asked Simons to rescue two of his employees; the Iranian revolutionary regime was holding them in a Tehran prison and was demanding a $13 million dollar ransom. In April of that year, Simons led a civilian rescue party into Iran and safely extracted the American hostages. Just one month later, Simons suffered a massive heart attack and died.
The previous award recipients are: Mr. H. Ross Perot, Gen. Edward “Shy” Meyer, The Honorable John O. Marsh, Jr., Col. Aaron Bank, Lt. Gen. Samuel V. Wilson, Lt. Gen. Leroy Manor, the Honorable Sam Nunn, the Honorable William S. Cohen, Gen. James Lindsay, Maj. Gen. John R. Alison, Col. Charlie Beckwith, Brig Gen. Harry “Heinie” Aderholdt and Command Sgt. Maj. Ernest Tabata.