Vincent A. Simonetti Memorial Scholarship
It is with great pleasure that American Legion Post 454 on Oak Island, NC, announces the new Vincent A. Simonetti Memorial Scholarship.
American Legion Post 454 is accepting applications for the 2025 Vincent A. Simonetti Memorial Scholarship program. This program will award (1) one $1,000 scholarship to a senior high school student living in the school district of South Brunswick County, NC, and accepted and attending an academically accredited University, College, Community College or Vocation School.
The award is merit based. The process includes an essay describing your future personal or career goals as it relates to services to your Community, State or Country; a list of extracurricular school activities and/or volunteerism in non-school activities; proof of registration to your accepted school; official school transcripts; and a letter of recommendation from a Teacher or Community Leader.
The deadline for completed applications is April 1, 2025. Click on the link below to download the application . Call 917.697.1034 for additional information.
“The more one knows, the more one can do. The more one can do, the more one ought to do.”
Vincent A. Simonetti
At the age of 17 he enlisted in the US Navy on 3/22/1942. Shortly after, he entered Naval Training School, boot camp, in Newport, RI. Upon completion of basic training, he was sent to The Boston Institute for Machinist Mate training on turbo electric ship propulsion systems. After graduation, he was ready to be assigned to a ship to put his learned skills to use. However, the Navy had other plans. He was sent to the Island of Adak in the SW Aleutian Islands and became a Provost Marshall in November of 1942. There were believed to be 10,000 Japanese soldiers on the lower Aleutian Islands of Attu and Kiska. The US military began a campaign to oust the Japanese from these islands. On 5/11/1943, the US attacked the Japanese on Attu. 2300 Japanese and 550 Americans lost their lives. This was followed by an attack on the Island of Kiska on 8/15/1943. The Japanese were evacuated before the attack; none were found. He spent 20 months in the Aleutian Islands supporting these attacks and living in Quonset huts.
New orders moved him to NY and more schooling. This time he was assigned a ship, AKA-25 USS Circe, an attack transport ship. He was a member of the first crew aboard during the launch and christening at Walsh-Kaiser Shipyard, Providence, RI. The new captain molded this new crew into a seagoing unit by the fall of 1944 in the Chesapeake Bay off Norfolk, VA. Then onto Pearl Harbor thru the Panama Canal. In Pearl Harbor, it picked up Marines and explosives. Next stop, Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands. In-route they crossed the equator; "Polliwogs" became "Shell Backs" - Davy Jones left his impression. For 6 weeks the ship, in extreme heat, shuttled back and forth from Guadalcanal, Russel Islands, and Floridas Islands staging for the invasion of Okinawa, Japan. USS Circe was assigned to a Transport Division, combat loaded and sailed in convoy for Ulithi Island 3/15/45. The night before arriving at invasion center Point Bolo, Okinawa, they heard the broadcast of "Tokyo Rose" remarks. On 4/01/45 the invasion started. It was the largest amphibious assault in the Pacific theater of WWII. Sleep became a thing of the past for 6 days. It was reported USS Circe gunners shot down 2 Japanese Kamikaze planes. The Circe had no casualties or damage during the first daring attack on the homeland of Japan. The land battle took 81 days, but the mission of the USS Circe was completed in 6. For the next 6 months, USS Circe sailed between Saipan, Marshall Islands, Pearl Harbor, and San Francisco shuttling troops to the states.
New orders arrived and Vincent was reassigned to the USS Admiral S.W. Sims, a troop transport. He boarded the ship in Manila, Philippines along with 5000 troops. Last stop San Francisco arriving 11/25/45. He was then given 24 hours to get on a plane to NY and on 12/9/45 was discharged in Lido Beach, L.I., N.Y. as a First Class Machinist Mate.
Vincent remained in the Navy Active Reserves and drilled at the Brooklyn Navy Yard until 5/10/51 when he was given orders to return to active duty. He reported to Norfolk, VA and boarded the DD-781 USS Robert K Huntington for the Korean Conflict. They trained off Guantanamo Bay, Cuba and supported the conflict in the Pacific. He was discharged 7/29/52. This time, it was for good since he was married and expecting his first child.
He moved to Southport, NC (St. James) in 2020 to live with his son Sal and daughter-in-law Christina. He joined the Oak Island American Legion Post 454 in 2021 and loved the comradery of the Veterans and the warm weather of NC. He passed peacefully on 6/07/23 at 98.
