Tec 4 Weyman P. Simpson, C Co 743rd Tank BN

Tec 4 Simpson being awarded Bronze Star Inscription on back says "dated 24th Apr [1945] Maj Gen Leland S. Hobbs, Commanding General 30th Division, 9th U S Army, awards the Bronze Star to Tec 4 Weyman P Simpson, Hartsfield, Ga., somewhere in Germany.743rd Tank BN, 30th Div, NUSA [Ninth US Army], Magdeburg, Germany

Tec 4 Simpson being awarded Bronze Star

Inscription on back says "dated 24th Apr [1945] Maj Gen Leland S. Hobbs, Commanding General 30th Division, 9th U S Army, awards the Bronze Star to Tec 4 Weyman P Simpson, Hartsfield, Ga., somewhere in Germany.743rd Tank BN, 30th Div, NUSA [Ninth US Army], Magdeburg, Germany

Weyman was a tank driver in WW2 and passed along some of his experiences in the war. He said he was only scared once during the entire time he was in the war. It started when he stepped onto the ship when he was sent to Europe and ended when he arrived home.  He was in 5 major battles in Europe and was never shot. He had every position in a tank at one time or another, but was mainly a tank driver.  His tank was number 13 which he viewed as a lucky number, since the tank was never completely disabled in battle.

My father (Alexander H. Simpson Jr.) was also in Europe during the end of the war and was in a few minor skirmishes, but not any of the same battles as Weyman. After the Germans were defeated, my father was sent to be part of the invasion of Japan.  The atomic bombs on Japan eliminated any need for an invasion, so he was sent to the Philippines. Later he went to Takaoka, Japan where he met my mother.

Two of the battles Weyman fought in were the infamous D-Day Landing and the Battle of the Bulge. He also fought in 2 battles in Belgium. On D-Day, he was due to land several hours earlier than the main landing force, but was delayed due to choppy seas. He was part of the group that put their tanks on floats and arrived at the beach just 10 minutes ahead of the main force. The only group to beat them to the beach were the paratroopers who had arrived the night before. This happened at daybreak and he remained in his tank until 11pm, at which time they were able to make a break in the German lines and make an advance. During the battle, he saw the devastating carnage first hand. He saw single cannon shots take out entire landing boats with 20-25 men so that there was nothing remaining. Read the rest of the post @: http://simpsonhistory.com/notes/weyman.html

Submitted by: Ralph Simpson ralphenator@gmail.com