Charles Simons
.2 linear feet
A2017-075
1890-1945 (unknown)
Capen Simons was born in 1918 and graduated from the Kingsville High School in 1936. He went to Texas A&I for two years where he played as a halfback. Capen then entered the war effort as a bombardier. He graduated flight school on February 13th, 1943. He trained at the Santa Ana Air Base and graduation ceremonies were held on Kirtland Field, Albuquerque, New Mexico. Capen became a bomber crewmember in the United States Army’s Eighth Air Force where he flew in a Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress named “Destiny’s Tot.”
Capen was a Bombardier Navigator 2nd Lt. in the 322nd Bombardment Squad. His first mission was a target over Hanover Germany. On this mission, they ran into bad weather but got to their target. Due to the weather, they ran out of gas and crashed landed into the North Sea where British Air-Sea rescue workers found them. All survived. Capen had 12 more missions but on his 13th they were shot down.
On October 9th, 1943 Capen and his crew was shot down over Germany on their 13th mission. Captured that day by the German army, Capen was MIA until November 1943 when his family received confirmation from the United States government that he was alive and a POW in Stalag Luft III. Stalag Luft III, a camp in Sagan, was halfway between Berlin and Breslau. When the Russians were closing in on Berlin in 1945, the POW’s were marched in sub-zero temperatures to Spremberg, then to another prison camp in Mooseberg. Capen was liberated on April 29th, 1945 and evacuated to France two weeks later.
Capen returned to Kingsville where he married his sweetheart, Edwy Jeanee Nelson. Dating before the war, their letters are documented throughout the collection. They had two boys, Robert E. Simons and Charles A. Simons. Capen worked at Exxon till his retirement in 1981. He passed away on June 5th, 1992 at the age of 74.
Included in the collection are approximately 360 items that chronicle Capen Simons life previous to his World War II involvement, his flight training, active duty, time being MIA, life as a POW, and some of his life after World War II. These events are captured through newspaper articles, official U.S. government papers, photographs, Western Union telegrams and personal correspondences.
This collection is arranged in eight series: Series I: Pre-World War II Series II: World War II Flight Training Series III: Active Duty Series IV: Capen Simons is MIA Series V: Capen Simons POW Internment Series VI: Capen Simons in World War II News Series VII: General World War II News Series VIII: Post World War II Life
South Texas Archives, James C. Jernigan Library, Texas A&M University-Kingsville
Open for Research
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Charles Simons Family Collection, A2017-075.XXXX- South Texas Archives, James C. Jernigan Library, Texas A&M University-Kingsville
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A2017-075 Gift from Charles Simon on December 19th, 2017
In 2018 Daniel Thacker processed the collection, created digital records, finding aid, and uploaded the EAD.