The Wall › Panel 40E › Florida › Clifford Chester Sims
CLIFFORD CHESTER SIMS
Staff Sergeant · U.S. Army
July 18, 1942 – February 21, 1968
Medal of Honor StoryClifford Chester Sims, of Port St Joe, Florida, served as a Staff Sergeant in the U.S. Army. He died on February 21, 1968, in Thua Thien Province, South Vietnam, at age 25. His name is inscribed on Panel 40E, Line 56 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
Medal of Honor · awarded posthumously
For conspicuous gallantry
Clifford Chester Sims received the Medal of Honor, the nation’s highest award for valor, for his actions on February 21, 1968. The official citation reads:
Rank and organization: Staff Sergeant, U.S. Army, Company D, 2d Battalion (Airborne), 501st Infantry, 101st Airborne Division. Place and date: Near Hue, Republic of Vietnam, February 21, 1968. Entered service at: Jacksonville, Fla. Born: June 18, 1942, Port St. Joe, Fla.
Citation:
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 3rd 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 2 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 the 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 reflects great credit upon himself and the U.S. Army.
^ *"Vietnam War Medal of Honor recipients (M-Z)". Medal of Honor citations. United States Army Center of Military History. 2003-10-03. Archived from the original on 2008-04-24. Retrieved 2007-01-29.
Citation text as reproduced in Wikipedia’s article on Clifford Chester Sims; Medal of Honor citations are official U.S. government records. See also the Congressional Medal of Honor Society and all Medal of Honor recipients on the Wall.
On the Wall
Panel 40E · Line 56
Names are inscribed in the order of loss, starting at Panel 1E at the apex and ending at Panel 1W. At the Memorial, find the panel number at the base and count down from the top line.
Remember
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Service
- Branch
- U.S. Army
- Rank
- Staff Sergeant (SSG)
- Service
- Regular
- Occupation
- Infantryman (11B)
- Unit (as recorded)
- 101 AIRBORNE DIV
- Born
- July 18, 1942
- Home of record
- Port St Joe, Florida (Gulf County)
Casualty
- Date of death
- February 21, 1968
- Age
- 25
- Province
- Thua Thien
- Country
- South Vietnam
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Killed in Action
- Circumstance
- Grenade
Context · from the records
What was happening
32 names on the Wall carry the date February 21, 1968; seven of them were lost in Thừa Thiên Province. In February 1968, 2,260 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
The 101st Airborne Division, his unit in the record, lost 144 of its members that month.
He died in Thừa Thiên Province while the Battle of Huế was under way. At Huế (31 January–2 March 1968), Marines, soldiers of the 1st Cavalry and 101st Airborne divisions and South Vietnamese troops fought house to house for 26 days to retake the old imperial capital, the longest urban battle of the war. The casualty record gives the province and date, not the exact place, so it does not say whether he fell in the battle itself.
On the Wall
Also on Panel 40E, Line 56
- LENNIE HAROLD SCHARFFPrivate First Class · February 21, 1968
- WILLIAM GARY SMITHPrivate First Class · February 21, 1968
- PAUL PHILLIP SONSTEINSpecialist Four · February 21, 1968
- PAUL STASKO JRPrivate First Class · February 21, 1968
Same unit, same day
- FLORENTINO CANTU JRSpecialist Four · Panel 40E, Line 52
From Port St Joe
- JAMES FRANKLIN TINDELLPrivate First Class · April 14, 1967
- JOHN CHARLES GAINOUSPrivate First Class · May 18, 1967
- MOULTON LAMAR FREEMANCaptain · May 13, 1969
Source. U.S. Department of Defense, Defense Casualty Analysis System, Vietnam Conflict Extract Data File (as of April 29, 2008), Records of the Office of the Secretary of Defense, Record Group 330, National Archives (NAID 2240992). Panel and line as recorded in that file. The Medal of Honor citation above is the official account of his actions. See something wrong? Report a correction.