Letter from Jeanne Simmes - George Page

JEANNE WADE SIMMES '67 writes:

I read your article in the Viking News about the Vietnam Project and felt compelled to share my story about GEORGE PAGE '66, who gave his life in Vietnam in 1969. George was a goofy, fun-loving, wonderful friend. He wasn't the best student in the world - just average. He wasn't a great athlete - just average. He wasn't the big man on campus - just your average joe. But, he was the most loyal friend in the whole world. He was the one you would tell all your secrets to and know they were safe. I know because I always told him mine.

George lived across the street from me on 26th Street between Ocean Park Boulevard and Pearl Street in Santa Monica. His family moved there during his high school years and I believe he previously attended Venice High School. Either I was at his house playing ping pong or he was at my house for dinner. I drove him all over town because he didn't have a driver's license. He decided to go into the service after graduation so he could get a driver's license and hopefully operate heavy machinery. Cars meant the world to him.

Unfortunately, he never got to own his own car because he was shot down in Vietnam. Someone wrote in the Viking News that he was killed on a river patrol but that was not my understanding. I was led to believe that he was in a helicopter that picked up injured soldiers after battles and his helicopter was shot down. Regardless, he received extensive burns and has to have his legs amputated. George was sent to Oakland Memorial Hospital to recover. As would have it, I was in college at UC Berkeley at the time. I remember riding the buses from Berkeley to Oakland and walking through the halls of the hospital to go visit George. The number of wounded soldiers at the hospital and the blank starees on their faces is something I will never forget. Such sacrifices our country asked of these young men.

Although George's injuries were devastating, and ultimately fatal, his face as without a scratch and his mind was clear. We talked for hours and all the time I noticed there was a set of car keys above his bed that represented the car he soon hoped to drove with mechanical hand shifts. Not long after that he passed away.

The funeral was held in Santa Monica and George was buried in Woodlawn Cemetery on 14th Street.

Hope this adds to the project.

JEANNE WADE Simmes '67