Clifford Chester Sims

Clifford Chester Sims was born Clifford Pittman on June 18, 1942, in Port St. Joe, Florida. His father died during his infancy, and his mother was killed in a traffic accident when he was three years old. After his stepfather was killed in the Korean War, Sims spent part of his childhood living in an abandoned bus near Panama City. Local shopkeepers and one of his schoolteachers helped provide food and shelter until James and Irene Sims adopted him at the age of thirteen. He took their surname and remained with the family through his teenage years. Three months after enlisting in the United States Army under service number 14780953, he married Mary on Christmas Day in 1961.

Following basic combat training at Fort Jackson, South Carolina, Sims completed airborne training at Fort Benning, Georgia, earning his parachutist badge. He was assigned to the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, and deployed to Santo Domingo in April 1965 during Operation Power Pack. In late 1967, he transferred to Company D, 2nd Battalion, 501st Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division. He arrived in the Republic of Vietnam on December 14, 1967, where he served as an infantry squad leader.

On February 21, 1968, during the Tet Offensive, Company D encountered entrenched enemy forces in wooded terrain near Huế, Thừa Thiên Province. Intense fire halted the advance of the 1st Platoon. Sims led his squad in a flanking attack that suppressed the enemy position and allowed the platoon to continue moving. Soon afterward, he was ordered to reposition his squad to protect the company command element. While carrying out the movement, he noticed that a nearby brick building used to store ammunition had caught fire. He directed his men to withdraw from the area, and the ammunition exploded shortly afterward, avoiding additional casualties within the squad.

As the company continued its advance through dense woodland toward another enemy bunker, the squad triggered a concealed booby trap. Sims shouted a warning and threw himself onto the explosive. He was killed instantly, shielding the soldiers around him from the blast. He was twenty-five years old.

The Medal of Honor was presented posthumously to his widow, Mary, and their daughter, Gina, by Vice President Spiro Agnew at the White House on December 2, 1969. His military decorations also included the Silver Star, Bronze Star Medal, and Purple Heart.

Sims was buried at Barrancas National Cemetery in Pensacola, Florida, in Section MH, Grave 29-546. In October 2003, the Florida Department of Veterans' Affairs opened the Clifford Chester Sims State Veterans' Nursing Home in Panama City, close to the area where he had spent part of his childhood.