Robert E. Simanek

He shielded other Marines from a grenade and survived wounds

After graduating from high school in 1948, Robert Ernest Simanek worked for Ford and General Motors. He entered the Marine Corps in August 1951 and joined Company F in Korea in May 1952. He earned the Medal of Honor at Outpost Irene, Korea, on August 17, 1952. A private first class in Company F, 2nd Battalion, 5th Marines, 1st Marine Division, he was accompanying a patrol toward a forward outpost when enemy fire forced the Marines into a trench.

When a grenade landed among the men, Simanek covered it with his body. He suffered grave wounds but survived, having protected his companions from the explosion.

Treatment in Japan and the United States followed his evacuation, and he entered temporary disability retirement in March 1953. Born in Detroit on April 26, 1930, Simanek received the medal from President Dwight D. Eisenhower at the White House on October 27, 1953. After studying at Michigan State, he graduated from Wayne State University and worked for General Motors, Federal Mogul and the Small Business Administration. He married Nancy Middleton in 1956, and they had a daughter. In retirement he supported Medal of Honor Society scholarship fundraising. He died in Novi, Michigan, on August 1, 2022, and is buried at Great Lakes National Cemetery in Holly.

Medal of Honor citation

For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while serving with Company F, in action against enemy aggressor forces. While accompanying a patrol en route to occupy a combat outpost forward of friendly lines, Pfc. Simanek exhibited a high degree of courage and a resolute spirit of self-sacrifice in protecting the lives of his fellow marines. With his unit ambushed by an intense concentration of enemy mortar and small-arms fire, and suffering heavy casualties, he was forced to seek cover with the remaining members of the patrol in a nearby trench line. Determined to save his comrades when a hostile grenade was hurled into their midst, he unhesitatingly threw himself on the deadly missile absorbing the shattering violence of the exploding charge in his body and shielding his fellow marines from serious injury or death. Gravely wounded as a result of his heroic action, Pfc. Simanek, by his daring initiative and great personal valor in the face of almost certain death, served to inspire all who observed him and upheld the highest traditions of the U.S. Naval Service.