A few things struck me about this story.
He wasn't just mousing...he was ratting big mean rats, and he meant to
take care of business! Big difference.
Bear in mind, the ship he was on was shelled and he had been wounded.
Most cats would have jumped ship or been in hiding from shell shock!
The amount of further suffering Simon prevented is heroic in itself.
The medal Simon was awarded is the equivalent of the Victorian Cross.
Being an amature numismatist, I was also struck (pardon the pun) by
how much
money his medal sold for at auction. In 1993 USD, that equals $41,302!
There are alot of very rare coins that don't sell for that kind of
scratch. ;)
Not bad at all for a medal that probably only cost about $5. at the
time it was issued. Just goes to show that some, albeit "people of
means" know the true value of Simons story.
Simon's story is something all cat owners and non-owners should know.