WASHINGTON, DC – In honor of Memorial Day, Congresswoman Hillary Scholten (D-MI-03) announced introduction of a bipartisan bill with all twelve members of the Michigan House delegation to rename the Grand Haven U.S. Postal Service (USPS) facility as the Ell Thomas Simantz Post Office Building. The designation would honor a Grand Haven native and war hero who lost his life in service to his country as a U.S. Army Technician Fifth Grade during World War II.
“Technician Fifth Grade Simantz served our country with the highest levels of bravery and honor, and paid the ultimate sacrifice to protect the values we hold so dearly as Americans,” said Congresswoman Scholten. “I’m proud to lead my colleagues in this well-deserved designation to ensure his service is never forgotten and allow his powerful legacy to inspire all of us in West Michigan and beyond.”
Additional background on Technician Fifth Grade Simantz is available below:
Ell Thomas Simantz was born on January 20, 1919, to Frank and Katerina (Polanek) Simantz and was raised in Grand Haven with his brother and four sisters. Simantz was a U.S. Army Technician Fifth Grade assigned to Service Company, 126th Infantry Regiment, 32nd Infantry Division. He was killed in action near Buna Village in Papua New Guinea during an Allied campaign against fortified enemy positions on December 19, 1942. He was then buried in a cemetery near the village with other fallen servicemen, where he remained during the war’s duration. Following the war, Simantz’s body was exhumed from the grave in Papua New Guinea by the American Graves Registration Service and brought to the Central Identification Point at the Manila Mausoleum in the Philippines.
Once in the Philippines, the remains could not be identified and were interred in the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial (MACM), and on September 16, 1949, Simantz was declared unrecoverable. He remained at the MACM for almost 70 years. In February 2017, Simantz’s remains were exhumed once again and sent to a Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) laboratory in the United States for forensic analysis. After almost a decade, scientists were able to use circumstantial evidence and DNA analysis to certify that his remains had been recovered––ensuring he could return to Grand Haven over 80 years after leaving to bravely serve our country.
Simantz was buried in his hometown of Grand Haven on October 17th, 2025, roughly 82 years after his family had held a funeral in February 1943. Ell Thomas Simantz was widely admired and loved by his family and friends, and was posthumously awarded a Bronze Star Medal, a Purple Heart, as well as various other medals and accolades.
Congresswoman Scholten was joined by Reps. Debbie Dingell (D-MI-06), Jack Bergman (R-MI-01), Kristen McDonald Rivet (D-MI-08), John Moolenaar (R-MI-02), Haley Stevens (D-MI-11), Tim Walberg (R-MI-05), Rashida Tlaib (D-MI-12), Tom Barrett (R-MI-07), Shri Thanedar (D-MI-13), Lisa McClain (R-MI-09), John James (R-MI-10), and Bill Huizenga (R-MI-04).
Comments