Samuel M. Sampler

Corporal, U.S. Army

Medal of Honor Recipient

World War I

Corporal Samuel M. Sampler (27 January 1895 - 19 November 1979) was a U.S. Army soldier who received the U.S. military's highest award for valor, the Medal of Honor, for his heroic actions during World War I.

Samuel M. Sampler was born in Decatur, TX, on 27 January 1895 but he was raised and went to school in Audubon, NJ. He entered into Army service at Altus, OK.

Medal of Honor

Rank and organization: Corporal, U.S. Army, Company H, 142d Infantry, 36th Division.

Place and date: Near St. Etienne, France, 8 October 1918.

Citation: His company having suffered severe casualties during an advance under machinegun fire, was finally stopped. Cpl. Sampler detected the position of the enemy machineguns on an elevation. Armed with German handgrenades, which he had picked up, he left the line and rushed forward in the face of heavy fire until he was near the hostile nest, where he grenaded the position. His third grenade landed among the enemy, killing 2, silencing the machineguns, and causing the surrender of 28 Germans, whom he sent to the rear as prisoners. As a result of his act the company was immediately enabled to resume the advance.

Death and Burial

Corporal Samuel M. Sampler died on 19 November 1979. He is buried at Fort Myers Memorial Gardens in Fort Myers, FL, in the Veterans Lawn Crypt, Section H, Space 70.