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| Simon Larson was a chief fire controlman on the destroy USS Monaghan until it was lost in Halsey's Typhoon. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/28461350/simon-peter-larson https://www.wrecksite.eu/wreck.aspx?15915 |
Simon Peter Larson never had a chance to reach 100 years old today. Instead, he sacrificed his life for our freedom.
Announcement: Later this month I will be starting a project that will result in the stories of all 400,000 plus of the World War 2 fallen at one online location. There will be an accompanying smart phone app to allow users visiting any war memorial to scan the fallen serviceman's name and be linked to his story. Watch this blog or join the WW2 Fallen 100 Facebook page to learn of upcoming details.
Simon was born on January 4, 1920 in South Dakota. His parents Arthur and Nellie were both born in Iowa. Arthur's parents were born in Sweden. Arthur worked as a highway superintendent. Simon had three older brothers and one younger sister.
He enlisted in the merchant marines in March 1940, but at some point he transferred to the US Navy. He was in thirteen naval engagements during World War 2. His final position was that of a chief fire controlman on the destroyer USS Monaghan. Monaghan was at Pearl Harbor during the December 7, 1941 Japanese surprise attack where it sunk a Japanese midget sub. It screened Enterprise during the Battle of Midway.
After three days of supporting carrier raids on Japanese targets in the Philippines Sea, Monaghan found itself low on fuel when its task force was overcome by a typhoon on December 18, 1944. Hit by wave after wave and riding high due to lack of ballast, the extreme rolling affected the engine lubrication causing the engines to underperform. With lack of ballast, Monaghan could not overcome the winds and maintain its heading as the winds exceeded 100 knots. The onboard communications system failed and interior portions starting ripping loose from the bulkheads as the destroyer was hurled through waves and troughs.
By midmorning of December 19, Monaghan had lost engine power, with only its rudder available to fight vainly to avoid a broadside wave that would capsize the ship. At 11:30 her last generator gave out. One of the six survivors counted seven consecutive giant waves pushing her over on her starboard side, tearing her apart as she finally succumbed to the storm. CFC Larson was one of the crew lost that day.
His cenotaph grave is at Black Hills National Cemetery in Sturgis, South Dakota.
WILLIAM COLBY
William Colby was born on the same date at Simon Larson. Colby was from Minnesota. He graduated from Princeton University in 1940 and enrolled in Columbia Law School.
During World War 2 Colby served in the Office of Strategic Services as a special operator. Twice he parachuted behind enemy lines, first in France and later in Norway. He was awarded the Silver Star.
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| https://historycollection.co/cia-director-william-colby-got-his-start-blowing-up-stuff-in-nazi-occupied-europe/ |
Last year on this date I profiled P-51 pilot Connie Vogel. You can read about Connie here.
On behalf of the fallen, if you would like to see more people become aware of this project to honor the WW2 fallen, be sure to share with others on Twitter, Facebook, etc. Thanks for your interest!
I created this video to explain why I started this project: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXt8QA481lY.
Please consider joining the public Facebook group to increase the exposure of this project. Go to: WW2 Fallen 100
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