This Military Service Page was created/owned by
Laura Hanaford (SBTS Historian)-Historian
to remember
Simon, Harry, GM1c.
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Casualty Info
Home Town Erie, PA
Last Address 257 e. 4th St. Erie, PA
Casualty Date Dec 02, 1943
Cause KIA-Body Not Recovered
Reason Other Explosive Device
Conflict World War II
Location of Interment Arlington National Cemetery (VLM) - Arlington, Virginia
Wall/Plot Coordinates Section ME 155 (memorial)
Military Service Number 2 341 813
Official Badges
Unofficial Badges
Additional Information
Last Known Activity:
On 17 November 1943, USS Capelin departed Darwin, Australia for her second war patrol that included the Molukka and Celebes Seas. The Capelin was never heard from again. An attempt was made to contact her on 9 December, but without success. Enemy minefileds are now known to have been placed in various positions along the north coast of Celebes and she may have been lost because of a mine explosion. Gunners Mate First Class Petty Officer Simon was killed with all hands onboard USS Capelin (SS-289) in December 1943.
Comments/Citation:
Service number: 2341813
Submarine war patrols:
USS Guardfish (SS-217) - 1st
USS Capelin (SS-289) - 1st and 2nd
The information contained in this profile was compiled from various internet sources.
Harry Simon (added 7 Nov 2022)
Service number: 2341813
Harry Simon was born on 17 June 1917 in Erie, Erie County, Pennsylvania. His father was James Simon, an immigrant who arrived in the United States in 1900. James worked for the Great Lakes Transportation freight house for 40 years. Harry's mother was Anna/Annie Morsky Simon, also an immigrant. James and Anna became naturalized citizens in 1914. Harry was the 7th born of 11 children. His older siblings were Kathryn, Peter, John, Edward, Edith and Esther. His younger siblings were Martha, Lillian, Anna and Sally.
At the time of the 1920 census, the parents and the eight oldest children were living in Erie. This census shows that Anna and James were from "Russia Poland" and spoke Russian. A sample of Harry's school work appeared in a 1927 edition of the Erie Times News. He wrote about going duck hunting and getting a duck that was as large as a goose.. He also mentioned bringing home some mud hens for his mother.At the time of the 1930 census, the parents and eight of the children were living in Erie, along with a lodger. This census shows that James and Anna were from Poland and spoke Polish. James was a laborer on the docks. At some point, Harry worked as a shoe shine boy. Harry appears in the 1933 yearbook for Erie Technical High School as part of the plumbing course. In 1935, Harry participated in an exhibition on the parallel bars for an annual open house at the Neighborhood House. In 1936 the Erie Times News Reported that three young men were arrested for a fight outside the Boys Club. Harry was the victim of the assault and battery. In 1937, Harry was in a car accident which involved a death. Harry was investigated but absolved of negligence.
Harry worked for a short time at the Pennsylvania Railroad ore docks prior to enlisting on 15 March 1938 in Buffalo, New York. He was received aboard the USS Worden (DD-352) as a Seaman Second Class (Sea2c) on 12 August 1938. His enlistment was extended for two years on 09 Oct 1940. Harry was Sea1c by that time. He was received aboard the SS-04 (SS65) at the time of her recommissioning on 31 Jan 1941 at the Philadelphia Receiving Station. The O-4 was a submarine designed for coastal defense during World War I. She was then used for training at the Submarine School in Groton, New London, Connecticut. In November 1941, Harry's ranking was Gunner's Mate 3rd Class (GM3c.) He re-enlisted on 7 March 1942 while in New London. That same month, Harry was scheduled to be transferred to the USS Guardfish. He was on board at the time of commissioning in May 1942. The 1942 patrols of the Guardfish are detailed in articles in the 14 December 1942 edition of Time magazine and the 15 March 1943 issue of Life magazine. These are consistent with an interview Harry gave to the Erie Times News in the 2 February 1943 edition. Harry was home for his first furlough in five years. At the time, Harry was unable to provide details including the name of the sub, but a history of the Guardfish indicated that she went from the east coast to Pearl Harbor through the Panama Canal. Harry shared with his hometown paper that he had been to Hawaii, Midway, Australia and the coast of Japan. As a gunner's mate, Harry was working both surface guns and torpedo apparatus. He shared that his sub had sunk two Japanese ships in 60 seconds. Harry was quoted as saying "When you are on a sub, they've got to find you first before they can take a shot at you." He also said, "I was plain scared the first time they go with a depth charge. They're no fun the first time. But you get used to them after awhile." Harry shared that he had no battle wounds, but did scar his finger on one of his own guns.
In June 1943, GM2c Harry Simon was aboard the USS Capelin (S-289) for her commissioning at the Navy Yard in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. The 30 September 1943 Muster Roll for the Capelin documents a ranking of GM1c for Harry. The Capelin sailed from New London, Connecticut to Brisbane, Australia. The first patrol was in the Molucca Sea, Flores Sea and Banda Sea. She sank a Japanese cargo ship. After repairs in Darwin, the Capelin started her second patrol in the Molucca Sea and Celebes Sea. The Capelin was last seen by the USS Bonefish on 2 December 1943. The Capelin was lost at sea without a known cause or trace. The location is considered "Off Celebes possibly off Kaoe Bay."
Harry and the entire crew of the Capelin was considered missing in action as of 15 December 1943. Anna received word that Harry was officially declared dead on 22 January 1946. He was survived by his mother, three brothers and seven sisters. Brother Edward was in the Navy for domestic service from August 1943 through February 1946.
Harry is memorialized at Arlington National Cemetery. His memory is also honored at the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial (also known as Fort William McKinley Cemetery in the Philippines. There is a gravestone in his memory at Eaoaun Bohoslov Cemetery, also known as Bohoslov Cemetery, Saint John the Divine Cemetery in Erie County, Pennsylvania. This is where Harry's parents are buried.
Thank you, Harry Simon, for your service and sacrifice for our freedom! It was a privilege to write your story.
This story is part of the Stories Behind the Stars project (see https://www.storiesbehindthestars.org/). This is a national effort of volunteers to write the stories of all 400,000+ of the US WWII fallen here on Together We Served and on Fold3. Can you help write these stories? Related to this, there will be a smartphone app that will allow people to visit any war memorial or cemetery, scan the fallen's name and read his/her story.
Laura Hanaford - Contributing Author, Stories Behind the Stars
If you have any details, photos, or corrections for this story, please email Together We Served directly.
