Simon Peter Christmas

Private Simon Peter Christmas died of appendicitis on October 19, 1945 in Manila, Philippines while on active duty in the U. S. Army during World War II. He was 19 years old.

Pvt Christmas was born on June 25, 1926 in Henderson, North Carolina, the son of Walter Christmas and Carrie Fields Christmas.

After graduating from Henderson Institute, Pvt. Christmas attended North Carolina Agricultural and Technical College in Greensboro, North Carolina before entering the U.S. Army in July 1945. 

Pvt Christmas served with the 1st Platoon, Casual which provided replacements to the 43rd Infantry Division.  The 43rd Division had been serving in the Pacific Theater of War since deployment on October 1, 1942. 

On January 9, 1945, the 43rd made an assault landing in the San Fabian area, Lingayen Gulf, Luzon in the campaign to liberate the Philippines from Japanese occupation forces. Under enemy fire, the Division secured the beachhead and fought into the Lingayen Plain by February 12.   Mopping-up activities continued until  June 30, 1945. The Division left Manila on September 7, 1945, and arrived in Yokohama, Japan on September 13, 1945 for occupation duty. The division began preparations for departure home on September  27, 1945 and officially began their departure on September 29. The first ship arrived in San Francisco on October  8, 1945.  Available records do not indicate the date on which Pvt Christmas reached the 43rd.  An article in the Henderson Daily Dispatch on October 30, 1945 stated that he “died in the Philippine Islands on October 19, 1945 as a result of appendicitis.”

Pvt Christmas is buried in the Flat Creek Missionary Baptist Church Cemetery, Williamsboro, North Carolina beside his brother Seaman Second Class Walter Christmas, Jr. who had died March 24, 1945 while serving in the U.S. Coast Guard, Reserve. 

Last edited: 13 May 2026