Robert Ernest Simpson
Private Robert E. “Bob” Simpson served with HQ Company Company, Third Battalion, 25th Marines.
He was reported missing in action at Iwo Jima on 20 February 1945.
Branch
Marine Corps Reserve
Service Number 422063
Current Status
Remains Not Recovered
Pursuit Category
This case is under Active Pursuit by DPAA
Capsule History
Pre-War Life
Birth
August 3, 1920
in Rolla, British Columbia, Canada
Parents
Wilbur Bain Simpson
Wilhelmina C. (Hehn) Simpson
Education
Lewis & Clark High School (1940)
University of Oregon (ex-1944)
Occupation & Employer
College student
Service Life
Entered Service
June 6, 1942
at Portland, OR
Home Of Record
S12 C Street
Spokane, WA
Next Of Kin
Parents, Thomas & Gladys Cockrell
Military Specialty
Rifle NCO
(MOS 737)
Individual Decorations
Purple Heart (Iwo Jima)
Loss And Burial
Circumstances Of Loss
Robert Simpson joined the Marine Corps Reserve in June, 1942, as a potential officer in the Platoon Leader’s Unit out of Bremerton, Washington. He continued studying and playing football at the University of Oregon until called to active duty in July 1943; he was assigned to the Navy V-12 contingent at USCLA for a few months, then sent across the country for recruit training at Parris Island. Simpson eventually entered Officers Candidate School at Quantico, but evidently washed out of the program; he found himself as a buck private in the Fifth Replacement Draft by July 1944.
Simpson joined Third Battalion, 25th Marines late in the summer of 1944. Although he never rose above the rank of private again, he made a name for himself on the undefeated Fourth Marine Division football team and served as a runner for the battalion commander, LtCol. Justice M. Chambers.
Chambers would be one of the last men to see Simpson alive, as he described in a 1978 interview:
“Well, I remember Simpson, who was one of my runners and a Bryant, who had been with me all the way through. The men who were going to go with me piled out of the LVT…. When we got into that big crater, I sent Simpson and [Cpl. Wayne T.] Friedline back. I never did see Simpson again.”
When he failed to return to the command post, Simpson was reported as missing in action on 20 February 1945. No identifiable trace of him was ever found, and he was ultimately declared dead on 21 February 1946.
Burial Information or Disposition
On 28 February, the badly mangled remains of a Marine were brought to the Fourth Marine Division cemetery for burial in Row 12, Grave 551. Graves Registration records agree that the deceased’s surname was Simpson – but differ as to whether he was buried as Robert E. (422063) or John A. (405515). Further complicating matters was the discovery of another Private Robert E. Simpson (826576), also of the Fourth Marine Division, buried in Grave 1372.
After the war, both Simpsons were exhumed for additional examination. The remains in Grave 1372 were conclusively identified as Private Robert Edward Simpson (HQ/1/24th Marines), and the case was resolved. However, the Simpson in Grave 551 was more complicated. Inquiries returned information on a John Anthony Simpson who fought at Iwo with the Fourth Engineer Battalion – but this Simpson was alive and well.
This suggests that X-89 may, in fact, be Robert Ernest Simpson. However, due to the condition of the remains – mostly missing from the waist up – anthropologists were unable to make a conclusive identification, and X-89 remains an unknown.
Memorials
Next Of Kin Address
Address of parents, Wilbur & Wilhelmina Simpson
Location Of Loss
Simpson’s battalion was operating in the Blue Beach area of Iwo Jima.
