Army Pfc. Anthony W. Simmons

Remember Our Heroes

Army Pfc. Anthony W. Simmons, 25, of Tallahassee, Fla.

Pfc. Simmons was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 327th Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Ky.; died July 8, 2010 in Kunar province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked his unit with indirect fire.

A Tallahassee man serving in the U.S. Army has died in Afghanistan, family members confirmed Saturday.

Pfc. Anthony Simmons, 25, was serving with the 2nd Battalion, 327th Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division.

Simmons was a graduate of Godby High School, where he played baseball and served as a team manager, and he had taken classes at Tallahassee Community College. He was deployed to Afghanistan in April. "He never met a stranger," his Mom Renee Miller said. "He was funny, fun-loving and just loved life." Miller said she's been inundated by phone calls from her son's friends and loved ones. "They said he was full of life, laughter and fun," she said.

Nicholas Simmons, 23, is serving in the same battalion as his brother and escorted his body home, Miller said.

Dylan Stewart, 26, met Simmons after moving to Tallahassee in 2005 and taking a job at Po' Boys on Pensacola Street, where Simmons was working. They started hanging out after work and quickly became close. "Our relationship was a lot tighter than just best friends," Stewart said. "We were inseparable. We did everything together." They hung out at the Palace Saloon, playing pool, throwing darts and listening to metal music, Stewart said.

"Every time we left the Palace — it was tradition — we'd go to Whataburger and stuff our faces, and we'd always go back to his mom's house and stay up as long as we could watching old Kung Fu movies," he said. Stewart, who now lives in Rome, Ga., and serves in the Georgia National Guard, said Simmons joined the Army a couple of years ago, and his little brother joined shortly thereafter.

"I know he just really wanted to do it," Stewart said. "He wanted to try it out and make a better life for himself."

Travis McGilvary, one of Simmons' high-school classmates, said Simmons may be gone, but he will not be forgotten.

"He was the manager for our junior varsity baseball team," McGilvary said. "He did the behind-the-scenes stuff for our team, and no matter what he had to do, he had a smile on his face, and he did it because he loved the game of baseball. He made my two years on the junior varsity team unforgettable."

Terri Shields said her children went to school with Simmons and her son played baseball with him. "Our hearts ache for this loss," Shields said. "I count it as a privilege to have known him. He is a hometown American hero."

Simmons is survived by his mother Renee; his stepfather, Robert Warren Miller; his younger brother, Nicholas Simmons; and a stepbrother and stepsister. His father, Stephen Anthony Simmons, passed away last year.

Army Pfc. Anthony W. Simmons was killed in action on 7/8/10.