William Sample
| William Dodge Sample | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
March 9, 1898 Buffalo, New York |
| Died | October 2, 1945 (aged 47) over Japan |
| Place of burial | Arlington National Cemetery |
| Allegiance |
 United States of America
|
| Service/branch |
 United States Navy
|
| Years of service | 1918–1945 |
| Rank |
 Rear Admiral
|
| Commands held | Scouting Squadron VS-1 Fighter Squadron VF-5 USS Santee (CVE-29) USS Intrepid (CV-11) USS Hornet (CV-12) Carrier Division 27 Carrier Division 22 |
| Battles/wars |
World War I World War II |
| Awards |
Legion of Merit Navy Commendation Medal |
William Dodge Sample (9 March 1898–2 October 1945) was a Rear Admiral in the United States Navy and an Escort Carrier Division commander in World War II. He was the youngest rear admiral in the Pacific Ocean theater of World War II.
Sample was born in Buffalo, New York and graduated from the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis, Maryland in June 1918.
During World War I, Sample served aboard the transport Henderson. For meritorious service during a fire onboard Henderson, he received a letter of commendation from the Secretary of the Navy. Detached in August 1918, he served on several destroyers based at Queenstown, Ireland. He remained in the European Waters Detachment after the end of World War I.
In December 1921, Sample was transferred to the gunboat Pampanga in the Asiatic Fleet.
Sample attended flight training at Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida and was designated a Naval Aviator on 23 June 1923. Shortly thereafter, he served as Commanding Officer of Scouting Squadron VS-1. In the 1920s, he successively served in the Aviation Departments of the light cruisers Raleigh and Richmond, and battleships Arizona and New York.
...
Wikipedia