WILLARD A. SAMPSON, LCDR, USN
Willard Sampson '40
Lucky Bag
From the 1940 Lucky Bag:
WILLARD ARCHIBALD SAMPSON
Evanston, Illinois
Bill
The eternal ray of sunshine — no matter how tarnished that hypothetical silver lining may be, it never evades Sam. With this same optimism he treats studies lightly, even when in the shadow of the most ominous of academic eight-balls. Sam is a conscientious swimmer, and a strong arm of the Navy team, upon which a will to win and a rugged physique have earned him a well deserved berth. With his affable personality and ever present sense of humor, Sambo will always have many sincere friends, and his career, in following the footsteps of his brother in the service, is bound to be a happy one. You have made us mighty proud of you, Sammy.
Football 40, 4, 3, 2; Swimming N, 4, 3, 2, 1, Captain; Water Polo 4, Captain; Goat Keeper 1; Radio Club 2; M.P.O.
WILLARD ARCHIBALD SAMPSON
Evanston, Illinois
Bill
The eternal ray of sunshine — no matter how tarnished that hypothetical silver lining may be, it never evades Sam. With this same optimism he treats studies lightly, even when in the shadow of the most ominous of academic eight-balls. Sam is a conscientious swimmer, and a strong arm of the Navy team, upon which a will to win and a rugged physique have earned him a well deserved berth. With his affable personality and ever present sense of humor, Sambo will always have many sincere friends, and his career, in following the footsteps of his brother in the service, is bound to be a happy one. You have made us mighty proud of you, Sammy.
Football 40, 4, 3, 2; Swimming N, 4, 3, 2, 1, Captain; Water Polo 4, Captain; Goat Keeper 1; Radio Club 2; M.P.O.
Loss
Sam was lost in a crash of an AJ-1 Savage in Huddleston, VA, while ferrying the aircraft from Edwards AFB, California on June 22, 1950. The page has more details on the crash as well as information on the permanent memorial erected on the site in 2002. Two others aboard were also killed in the crash.
Other Information
He is buried in Arlington National Cemetery. His gravestone lists the Distinguished Flying Cross and two gold stars among his awards; unable to find a citation.
From the August 1950 issue of Shipmate:
Commander Sampson is survived by his wife, Jean, and their girls, Jean, 7 and Helen, 5.
Commander Sampson was a carrier fighter pilot during the war and commanded Fighter Squadron 83 on board the carrier Essex. His duty assignment at the time of his death was with the Piloted Aircraft Division, Bureau of Aeronautics.
Photographs
From the Lucky Bag
The "Register of Commissioned and Warrant Officers of the United States Navy and Marine Corps" was published annually from 1815 through at least the 1970s; it provided rank, command or station, and occasionally billet until the beginning of World War II when command/station was no longer included. Scanned copies were reviewed and data entered from the mid-1840s through 1922, when more-frequent Navy Directories were available.
The Navy Directory was a publication that provided information on the command, billet, and rank of every active and retired naval officer. Single editions have been found online from January 1915 and March 1918, and then from three to six editions per year from 1923 through 1940; the final edition is from April 1941.
The entries in both series of documents are sometimes cryptic and confusing. They are often inconsistent, even within an edition, with the name of commands; this is especially true for aviation squadrons in the 1920s and early 1930s.
Alumni listed at the same command may or may not have had significant interactions; they could have shared a stateroom or workspace, stood many hours of watch together… or, especially at the larger commands, they might not have known each other at all. The information provides the opportunity to draw connections that are otherwise invisible, though, and gives a fuller view of the professional experiences of these alumni in Memorial Hall.
June 1940
LTjg John Hunter '36 (Scouting Squadron (VS) 2)
November 1940
LT Baylies Clark '30 (Torpedo Squadron (VT) 2)
LT Charles Crommelin '31 (Fighting Squadron (VF) 2)
LTjg Robert Isely '33 (Torpedo Squadron (VT) 2)
LTjg Joel Davis, Jr. '35 (Bombing Squadron (VB) 2)
LTjg John Hunter '36 (Scouting Squadron (VS) 2)
LTjg Raymond Moore '37 (Torpedo Squadron (VT) 2)
LTjg Thomas Edwards, Jr. '37 (Scouting Squadron (VS) 2)
April 1941
LT Weldon Hamilton '28 (Bombing Squadron (VB) 2)
LT Clair Miller '29 (Torpedo Squadron (VT) 2)
LT Charles Crommelin '31 (Fighting Squadron (VF) 2)
LTjg Joel Davis, Jr. '35 (Bombing Squadron (VB) 2)
LTjg John Hunter '36 (Scouting Squadron (VS) 2)
LTjg Thomas Edwards, Jr. '37 (Scouting Squadron (VS) 2)
ENS Roy Hale, Jr. '38 (Scouting Squadron (VS) 2)
ENS Leonard Thornhill '38 (Torpedo Squadron (VT) 2)
ENS Harry Bass '38 (Bombing Squadron (VB) 2)
The "category" links below lead to lists of related Honorees; use them to explore further the service and sacrifice of alumni in Memorial Hall.
