OTSELIC – Army Sgt. Robert E. Simmons, known as “Skeeter” to his friends and family, was honored at a ceremony in Heuvelton, on Saturday, Sept. 16. Robert was one of many soldiers who were sent to Vietnam in the 1970s never to return. Although the United States Army has closed the file on Robert, the Simmons family still questions what really happened.
Robert attended school in Heuvelton, NY before graduating from DeRuyter High School in 1969. After high school, Robert joined the Army and was sent to Vietnam.
On March 29, 1972, Robert’s plane was shot down. It was 14 years before government officials went to the crash site to see what remains they could find, and when they did, the evidence they brought back was minimal. A single tooth was given to Robert’s mother, Rita Simmons, as proof that her son was dead. Rita and the rest of the Simmons family never accepted the government’s evidence.
After talking to several Vietnam veterans who claimed to have information about her son and hearing their reports, Simmons believes Robert was taken as a prisoner of war. What happened to him then, remains a mystery. The government denies these claims, but Simmons does not believe their account of the events.
“I wouldn’t believe the government. If they said good morning, it would probably be raining,” Simmons said.
Family members and friends gathered at Purmort Cemetery in DePeyster, NY on Saturday, Sept. 16. The group of approximately 30 people looked on as a headstone, placed at the cemetery in memory of Robert, was unveiled.
“It’s not a burial stone,” Simmons was quick to point out. “It’s a remembrance stone. We don’t know anything yet.” For several years after the plane went down, Rita received information from other soldiers who claimed to have seen Robert, or knew something about his whereabouts, but after 34 years, the information has stopped coming in, and the family now fears they may never know the truth.
Rita’s grandson, Marine Corps Staff Sergeant Jason Pittsley, put together a display case with medals that had been posthumously awarded to Robert. He took it upon himself to reserach what medals his Uncle should have received, and to make sure that he got them. He presented the display to his grandmother at the service. Despite everything that has happened, Simmons says it has not increased her concern for her grandson, who also chose military service.
According to her, you have to put the negative thoughts out of your mind. “You just don’t think about it until someone comes knocking on your door,” Simmons said.
Robert’s headstone was placed next to the grave of his father, an Army veteran from World War II. The marker does not allude to death, but rather states the only facts about Robert that the Simmons family knows.
“In loving memory of SMSgt Robert E. Simmons, “Skeeter.” Born Nov. 25, 1951, POW MIA since March 29, 1972. You are always in our hearts,” it reads.
The ceremony was planned by Robert’s siblings, brothers Harry, Richard “Butch,” and Wayne Simmons, and sisters Debra Shepard, Cherie Stevens, and Adell Thompson. Although 34 years have passed, the family has still not found closure, and maybe they never will. The question of what happened to Robert has never been answered.