French Honor Oxnard GI Slain While Liberating Their Village

The French village of Mutzig has never forgotten that Simon S. Quiroz gave his life fighting for the town’s freedom.

So more than 50 years after the Oxnard native was killed by a German sniper during World War II, the village in Alsace is dedicating a memorial to Quiroz--the only Allied soldier to die in Mutzig.

News of the memorial surprised Quiroz’s daughter, Hope Viera, who was less than 2 years old when a German lieutenant shot her father on Nov. 26, 1944.

“I think it is a great honor to have the city recognize my father,” said Viera, a 53-year-old secretary at Mar Vista Elementary School in Oxnard. “It’s amazing he was the only soldier killed defending the town.”

That Quiroz made the ultimate sacrifice while routing Germans from Mutzig has created a bond between the French village of 5,000 near the German border and Oxnard, a sprawling coastal city of more than 150,000.

Tonight, the Oxnard City Council is set to approve a special “Friendship City” relationship with Mutzig, solidifying ties in a largely ceremonial but significant manner. And a handful of Quiroz’s relatives plan to travel to Mutzig for the memorial’s dedication May 8, which is Liberation Day in France.

“I didn’t expect this kind of attention at all,” said Bob Valles, Quiroz’s 59-year-old nephew and a deputy equal employment opportunity officer at the Navy base in Port Hueneme.

Visiting Europe with his son last year, Valles on a whim made a side trip to see the town where his beloved uncle had died. In Mutzig, he met residents who knew Quiroz’s story and were grateful for the American contribution to the war effort.

Luc Heinrich, a member of the village’s historical society, has led the push for the informal Friendship City ties and the memorial plaque in front of the Mutzig doorway where the sniper’s bullet pierced Quiroz’s skull.

“I think France and the United States have a long history of friendship,” said Heinrich, an advertising executive, in an interview from his home in Mutzig. “But Quiroz’s death really symbolizes the friendship between two cities in particular. It has brought us closer together.”

As a member of the Army’s 15th Infantry Division, Quiroz marched into Mutzig with Allied troops to liberate the town from German occupation Nov. 24, 1944.

The German Army was in a rout, and Quiroz was put on patrol, charged with going door-to-door to find any German soldiers hiding from the Allies.

“He was cleaning house, getting out the Germans,” said Valles, describing the day Quiroz died. “He was shot by a German lieutenant who was in a nearby house.” The lieutenant then immediately shot and killed himself, Valles said.

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It took a while for the news of Quiroz’s death to reach the family by telegram.

“It was shocking,” said Valles, who plans to fly to the dedication in Mutzig with his two daughters, their husbands and his son. “A telegram person came on a bicycle and knocked on the door at about 7:30 a.m. Everybody got hysterical and started crying.”

After a memorial service in a Mutzig church, Quiroz’s body was shipped back to Oxnard, where he was buried in the Santa Clara Cemetery. His name is listed on a veterans memorial in Oxnard’s Plaza Park.

Born in Oxnard in 1921, Quiroz grew up on the Adolfo Camarillo family ranch, where his parents worked as laborers. Adolfo Camarillo, the large landowner and the city of Camarillo’s namesake, became Quiroz’s godfather at the child’s baptism.

After attending schools in the Pleasant Valley School District, Quiroz went to work on the ranch and later got a job as a truck driver. He married an Oxnard woman in 1939, and the couple had two daughters--Hope and Barbara--before he was drafted in 1943. Quiroz’s widow, now Antonia Sabedra, later remarried.

Valles said that he and his brother have vivid memories of adventures with their uncle before he left for Europe in 1943.

“He used to take my brother and I all over the place--fishing, hiking, to Los Angeles,” Valles said. “He pampered us a lot.”

Viera said her mother, now 72, wanted to name her Barbara when she was born shortly before Quiroz was drafted. But Quiroz insisted on christening the first of his two daughters Esperanza, or Hope.

“He said ‘No, name her Hope because she is the only hope I have of coming back,’ ” Viera said.

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As Valles begins to prepare for his trip to Mutzig, where he will spend three days attending various ceremonies including the memorial dedication, he said he talks frequently about his uncle with other relatives.

“Maybe, because of this, he has come back into our lives,” Valles said.