Arthur D . Simons Colonel Arthur D . " Bull " Simons ( United States Army , retired ) ( June 28 , 1918 - May 21 , 1979 ) was a US Army Special Forces officer , best known for leading the Son Tay raid , an attempted rescue of American prisoners of war from a North Vietnamese prison at Son Tay . Early life . Arthur David Simons was born in New York City , moving to Missouri in his youth . He attended the University of Missouri - Columbia and majored in journalism , entering the ROTC program there in 1937 . After graduation , he married his wife Lucille , eventually having two boys , Bruce and Harry . He remained married to Lucille for 37 years until her death on March 16 , 1978 . Army service . Simons was commissioned a Second Lieutenant in the Field Artillery Branch in 1941 , and was initially assigned to the 98th Field Artillery Battalion , a part of one of the Army ' s pack mule units . In his first assignment as a Platoon Leader , the new lieutenant was so quiet and reserved ( he later said he wanted to learn from the sergeant s that seemed to know their business well ) that one of his sergeants came to believe that Simons was a mute . The unit was dispatched to Australia , but immediately diverted to New Guinea in the early stages of World War II , and Simons thrived in the harsh jungle environment . He was soon promoted to Captain and served as a Battery Commander in the battalion from 1942 - 43 . The mules themselves did not prove suitable in the jungle , and the unit was dissolved in 1943 . CPT Simons took his battery to the newly forming Ranger Battalion that would come out of the dissolution of his old unit . He soon became the commander of " B " ( Baker ) Company and later the Battalion Executive Officer ( XO ) of the 6th Ranger Battalion under LTC Henry Mucci . Simons participated in several hazardous landings with the Rangers in the Pacific . He led a team of engineers and Navy personnel tasked to de - mine the Leyte channel before the invasion of the island began in earnest . On Luzon in the Philippines , he participated in the Raid at Cabanatuan that rescued approximately 500 POWs who were mostly survivors of the Bataan Death March . ( For his actions in the raid he was awarded the Silver Star . ) He quickly rose to the rank of Major and continued to prove his worth as a combat leader . At the conclusion of the Second World War , Major Simons left the active Army for five years . Simons was recalled to active duty in 1951 to serve as an infantry instructor and Ranger trainer in the Amphibious and Jungle Training camp at Eglin AFB , Florida . Other assignments included a year as a Public Information Officer ( PIO , now " Public Affairs Officer " or PAO ) at Ft . Bragg , North Carolina , a job that he despised ( he held a low opinion of the media , one that would prove itself in later years and assignments . " The press hasn ' t done very well for the American soldier , " he would later remark . ) Simons also completed tours with the Military Assistance Advisory Group , Turkey and XVIII Airborne Corps before joining the 77th Special Forces Group in 1958 . In 1960 he served as Deputy Commander / Chief of Staff of the U . S . Army Special Warfare Center . Promoted to Lieutenant Colonel in 1961 , he commanded the 107 - man Operation White Star Mobile Training Team in Laos from 1961 to 1962 and was the first commander of the 8th Special Forces Group , Panama from 1962 to 1964 . From Panama , he was assigned to the Military Assistance Command , Vietnam Studies and Observations Group ( MACV - SOG ) , which conducted numerous behind - the - line missions in Southeast Asia . In 1970 , Simons was hand - picked to be the ground commander of Operation Ivory Coast , a joint special operations effort to rescue American prisoners of war from the Son Tay prison in North Vietnam . While the mission rescued no prisoners ( due to an intelligence failure , the raiders were not notified that the prisoners had been moved a few months earlier ) , it did force North Vietnam to consolidate all of the prisoners into a few central compounds in Hanoi , resulting in a boost in the prisoners ' morale and improved treatment . They were also heartened to know that a rescue effort had been attempted . While the mission did not accomplish its primary objective , the North Vietnamese were given pause at the ease in which Americans could invade so close to their capital , and no American lives were lost in the operation ( and only one minor injury , a sprained ankle ) . For his outstanding leadership , Simons was decorated by President Richard M . Nixon with the Distinguished Service Cross at the White House on November 25 , 1970 . Simons ' nickname " Bull " was taken from a physical training game called the " bull pit , " where one soldier climbs down into a pit in the ground , and other soldiers engage in trying to pull the first soldier from the pit . Simon ' s large physical stature and great strength – even in his fifties , he did 250 push - ups every day – made him a formidable challenge to remove from the pit , and the name " Bull " stuck . In retirement . COL Simons retired from the Army on July 31 , 1971 , and moved with his wife to a small farm in Red Bay , Florida , engaging in livestock farming and doing amateur gunsmithing on the side . In late 1978 , Simons was contacted by Texas businessman Ross Perot , who requested his direction and leadership to help free two employees of Electronic Data Systems who were arrested shortly before the Iranian Revolution . Simons organized a rescue mission and ultimately freed the two men from the Iranian prison . All involved returned safely to the United States . Three months later , while on vacation in Vail , Colorado , COL Simons died of heart complications at the age of 60 . He is buried in the Barrancas National Cemetery in Pensacola , Florida . Ross Perot and others founded a scholarship initiative for the children of the casualties from the Iranian hostage rescue attempt , and named the fund in honor of COL Simons ' s memory . COL Simons ' s great contributions to the Army and the Special Forces community are honored with a statue that stands in front of the John F . Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School ( USAJFKSWCS ) at Ft . Bragg , North Carolina . The John F . Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School presents an annual award called the " ' Bull ' Simons Award " to an outstanding special forces operator . COL Simons was also inducted into the Ranger Hall of Fame .