Wayne H. Simola
Era: World War II
Military Branch: Army
Wayne H. Simola entered the army in December of 1942, at Fort Snelling, Minnesota.
He served as a Technician Fourth Grade, auto mechanic and tank driver with the 801st Tank Destroyer Battalion of the 99th Infantry Division. He landed on Omaha Beach, Normandy, in June of 1944.
Wayne participated in the five campaigns of Normandy, Northern France, Battle of the Bulge (Ardennes), Rhineland, and Central Europe. He crossed the Rhine River, Hartz Mountains, and then south to join the Third Army (General Patton), crossing the Danube into Belgium.
The 801st earned the Belgian Croix de Guerre and the Belgian Fourragere.
Mr. Simola received the following: European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with one silver star.
He was honorably discharged December 1945.
Source: Hometown Heroes: The Saint Louis County World War II Project, 294.
