Clifford C. Simms, U.S. Army

Hero Card 16, Card Pack 2
Photo credit: U.S. Army photo (digitally restored), Public Domain

Hometown: Jacksonville, FL 
Branch: U.S. Army 
Unit: 101st Airborne Division, 2nd Battalion, 501st Infantry, D Company 
Military Honors: Medal of Honor, Silver Star, Bronze Star, Purple Heart, Vietnam Gallantry Cross
Date of Sacrifice: February 21, 1968 - KIA near Huế, Vietnam
Age: 25 
Conflict: Vietnam War, 1959-1975

He was born Clifford Pittman in Port St. Joe, Florida, on June 18, 1942. He never knew his father, and by the time he turned 3 or 4, his mother was killed in a truck accident, and his stepfather was lost in the Korean War.

Other relatives took Clifford in for a while. But he left the house one night and made his home in an old, abandoned bus in the woods near Panama City, Florida.

Clifford would watch the back of a nearby school for the morning’s delivery of milk and doughnuts. He’d go into stores where shopkeepers would turn their backs while he took only what he needed. They knew what he was doing…but allowed him to steal the food.

A sixth-grade teacher noticed Clifford and asked him why he wasn’t in school. When the teacher heard his story, she told him to come to the school whenever possible and stay as long as he could. He’d get occasional meals and nights sleeping in various homes until he turned 13 years old. At 13, he was adopted by James and Irene Sims.

Clifford Sims somehow made it to high school in Port St. Joe, where he met Mary, his future wife. After he joined the United States Army in September 1961, the two were married on Christmas Day of that year.

Sims left for Basic Training at Fort Jackson, South Carolina, followed by Airborne School at Fort Benning, Georgia. He was assigned to the Army’s 82nd Airborne Division based at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.

In April 1965, Sims and the 82nd Airborne were sent to the Dominican Republic as part of Operation Power Pack—a rapid deployment mission to restore order during a civil war and to protect American citizens in the country. The intervention was also intended to separate warring factions and prevent a potential Communist takeover of the government.

After earning his Combat Infantry Badge in the Dominican Republic, Sims returned to Ford Campbell, Kentucky, before being deployed to Vietnam in late 1967 to join the 1st Brigade.

On February 21, 1968, Staff Sergeant Sims was leading his squad on a search-and-destroy mission when he heard a booby trap trigger. Yelling for his soldiers to get back, he threw himself on the device, taking the full impact of the blast. Sims is also credited with saving his company’s first platoon and headquarters earlier that same day.

In an eyewitness statement supporting a Medal of Honor application for Sims, his commander, 1st Lt. Cleo Hogan wrote, “Sims saved the lives of at least three of his squad and two of the company headquarters by absorbing the shock of the blast himself. SSG Sims made the greatest sacrifice a soldier can make…and no mark of tribute can be too great.”

Sims’ Medal of Honor Citation reads:

For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty. S/Sgt. Sims distinguished himself while serving as a squad leader with Company D. Company D was assaulting a heavily fortified enemy position concealed within a dense wooded area when it encountered strong enemy defensive fire.

Once within the woodline, S/Sgt. Sims led his squad in a furious attack against an enemy force which had pinned down the 1st Platoon and threatened to overrun it. His skillful leadership provided the platoon with freedom of movement and enabled it to regain the initiative.

S/Sgt. Sims was then ordered to move his squad to a position where he could provide covering fire for the company command group and to link up with the 3d Platoon which was under heavy enemy pressure. After moving no more than 30 meters S/Sgt. Sims noticed that a brick structure in which ammunition was stocked was on fire.

Realizing the danger, S/Sgt. Sims took immediate action to move his squad from this position. Though in the process of leaving the area two members of his squad were injured by the subsequent explosion of the ammunition, S/Sgt. Sims’ prompt actions undoubtedly prevented more serious casualties from occurring.

While continuing through the dense woods amidst heavy enemy fire, S/Sgt. Sims and his squad were approaching a bunker when they heard an unmistakable noise of a concealed booby trap being triggered immediately to their front. S/Sgt. Sims warned his comrades of the danger and unhesitatingly hurled himself upon the device as it exploded, taking the full impact of the blast.

In so protecting his fellow soldiers, he willingly sacrificed his life. S/Sgt. Sims’ extraordinary heroism at the cost of his life is in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit upon himself and the U.S. Army.