Fred Simmons, of Hambleton, got the surprise of a lifetime when he answered the phone and heard the voice of an old war buddy. Charles Salisbury reached out to his old buddy through the website militarypersonnellocator.com.
In 1949 Simmons and Salisbury were 17 years olds in the Army together. They finished basic training and went to Germany to be clerks. When they arrived there were no clerk positions available so they were recruited to be Military Police. They served together until 1952 when Simmons returned home because of the death of his brother.
Salisbury finished his stint in the Army, joined the US Navy and has since retired from that as well and now lives in Norfolk, Va.
Salisbury is originally from Widen, WV and his family was having a reunion in Summersville. He called to see if he could meet up with Simmons and so the story began.
Simmons said, “We talked of old friends and experiences we shared overseas.
It was good to see him after all these years.” Salisbury had tried to get in touch with some of the other guys he served with and had no luck.
The militarypersonnellocator.com address has helped reunite many service personnel who have lost track of friends they met while serving to defend our country.
