Samuel Lyman Atwood Marshall

S.L.A. Marshall
Born	(1900-07-18)July 18, 1900 Catskill, New York
Died	17 December 1977(1977-12-17) (aged 77) El Paso, Texas
Place of burial	Fort Bliss National Cemetery
Allegiance	United States of America
Service/branch	United States Army
Years of service	1917–1960 (non-consecutive)
Rank	Brigadier General
Unit	90th Infantry Division (WWI) Eighth Army (Korean War)
Battles/wars	Pancho Villa Expedition World War I World War II Korean War
Awards	Legion of Merit Bronze Star Medal (2) Combat Infantryman Badge
Other work	author journalist

Samuel Lyman Atwood Marshall (July 18, 1900 – December 17, 1977) was a chief U.S. Army combat historian during World War II and the Korean War. Known professionally as S. L. A. Marshall, and nicknamed "Slam" (the combination of all four of his initials), he authored some 30 books about warfare, including Pork Chop Hill: The American Fighting Man in Action, which was made into a film of the same name.

Marshall was born in Catskill, New York and raised in Colorado, California and El Paso, Texas. He joined the Army in 1917 and saw service on the border with Mexico during the Pancho Villa Expedition before serving in France during World War I. He attained the rank of sergeant while serving as a member of Company A, 315th Engineer Regiment, 90th Infantry Division. The 315th Engineers participated in the Saint-Mihiel and Meuse-Argonne Offensives.

Shortly after Saint-Mihiel, Marshall was one of the soldiers in his unit selected to take the entrance examinations for the United States Military Academy as part of an Army initiative to replenish the officer corps with exceptional soldiers from the ranks. (Under this program, Captain Harry S. Truman nominated a member of his battery, John Francis Uncles. Uncles retired as a lieutenant general.) Marshall subsequently attended Officer Candidate School, received his commission in early 1919, and remained in France to assist with post-war demobilization.

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