SFC Peter Simon comes home

Hondo told us last January that Sergeant First Class Peter Simon’s earthly remains had been identified by DPAA. Cleveland Plain Dealer reports that he arrived in Ohio today for his final rest on Saturday.

A veteran of World War II, SFC Peters was killed in Korea as a member of G Company, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division on September 5, 1950 during the defense of the Pusan Perimeter.

He was born in Grindstone, Pennsylvania, in 1915, the son of John and Elizabeth Simon, with six siblings (all deceased now). The family later moved to Northeast Ohio.

Simon’s niece, Dolores Soltesz, of Maple Heights, was contacted by the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) earlier this year with news that her uncle had been identified.

“I was oldest living relative,” she said. “It was a big shocker. I couldn’t believe it. After 68 years of him being dead, it was a very big surprise to me.”

Graves Registration personnel were guided to his initial grave by a Korean peasant and he was marked as Unknown X-1085 until January this year when he was identified while DPAA were trying to identify other remains.

Ms. Soltesz is laying her uncle near her planned final resting place;

“I certainly am so happy,” she added. “I’m glad I lived long enough to see him brought back to the country that he served. I never thought they would find him.”

Soltesz said she chose All-Saints Cemetery for his burial because “I’m putting him where I’m going, so he’ll be where I’m at.”