Southern Maryland veteran reflects on Navy service on 100th birthday
Charlie Simms of Ridge first arrived in St. Mary’s County in 1949 when he was stationed at Naval Air Station Patuxent River. While driving his motorcycle, he had to stop at Hole in the Wall, a local bar, to ask for directions.
Charlie Simms of Ridge, who served in the Navy for 23 years, recently celebrated his 100th birthday.
Charlie Simms of Ridge rode motorcycles well into his 90s until he damaged his retina on a screen door and lost sight in one eye. “If that hadn’t happened, he would still be riding that motorcycle,” his son Glen Simms said.
Charlie Simms of Ridge, who was a chief in the U.S. Navy, watches as wreathes are placed in the Ridge American Legion Post 255 during a Memorial Day ceremony earlier this year.
When Charlie Simms first drove down to St. Mary’s County on his motorcycle in 1949, he had to stop at Hole in the Wall, a local bar, to ask for directions.
The now traffic-congested Three Notch Road was a simple dirt path at the time, and Naval Air Station Patuxent River was one of the only landmarks for miles.
Attendees at Hole in the Wall bar told Simms to “just keep driving.”
Simms, who turned 100 last month, spent 23 years in the Navy. The Ridge resident first enlisted at the end of World War II when he was 17 and one of five children in Oklahoma.
His son, Glen Simms, said his father enlisted to get “three meals a day and clothes.”
“I stayed in the Navy” when the war ended, Charlie said. “I didn’t want to go back to Oklahoma. The Navy was good to me.”
While stationed in Jacksonville, Florida, Charlie kept an eye on German prisoners. Years later, when he was flying the Berlin airlift, he reconnected with one of the prisoners at a restaurant.
Over the years, he was stationed in Florida, Tennessee, California, Texas and Washington, D.C. The last location was where he met his wife, Dorothy.
The two were out with a group of friends and got to talking. By the time the conversation ended, they realized they were the only two left. Charlie asked if she wanted a ride and he called a taxi, which impressed her.
Turns out, the taxi ride was to pick up Charlie’s motorcycle, and Dorothy had to ride on the back with him.
“They were destined to be together,” Glen Simms said.
Charlie and Dorothy had three kids together, including Glen, who lives with his father near the water in Ridge.
Along with maintaining a victory garden, Charlie enjoys canning vegetables, crabbing and fishing.
“I played hooky back in school” to go fishing, he said.
He maintained his love of motorcycles well into his 90s until he injured his retina on a screen door and lost vision in his eye.
“If that hadn’t happened, he would still be riding that motorcycle,” Glen said.
Growing up, Glen and his siblings would listen to their father’s stories about his time in the Navy, and Charlie would show them photo slides of his travels.
“He’s seen a lot in 100 years,” Glen said.
To celebrate the big day, Charlie attended three different birthday parties: one at the American Legion, another at Buzzy’s Country Store and the third hosted by Commissioner Mike Hewitt (R), whose father was friends with Charlie.
“It was such a pleasure and honor to hear the experiences of someone who’s turned 100 years old,” Hewitt said at the Oct. 6 commissioners’ meeting. “And what the most enlightening part is, he’s surprised by how fast it went by.”
“I never remember not knowing the Hewitts,” Glen Simms said. “The military families were very close and looked out for each other.”
That closeness continues at the Simms’ home in Ridge, where friends will deliver food or check in on Charlie.
When asked what his secret was to living to 100, Charlie said, “just keep breathing.”
