D-Day remembered: Fort Carson’s Sgt. Simmons honors family legacy of valor on 81st anniversary
By Mary Shinn | Denver Gazette
A Fort Carson soldier honored his family’s history this week in France ahead of commemorating the 81st anniversary of D-Day on Friday.
On Monday, Sgt. John Simmons visited the grave of his great-great-uncle Cpl. Raymond Parry in St. Mihiel American Cemetery, marking the first time in 95 years a member of the family visited the grave of the World War I soldier who never went home to Wyoming.
Later in the week, he expected to receive his promotion to staff sergeant on Utah Beach, a battle site his great-grandfather Glenn Thomas Workman passed through as part of the 6th Armored Division, after it was secured 81 years ago.
Simmons comes from a long line of service members on both sides of his family, including three members who served in World War I a...
