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Francis L. Sampson
Francis Sampson
Major General Francis L. Sampson
12th Chief of Chaplains of the United States Army
Born (1912-02-29)February 29, 1912
Died January 28, 1996(1996-01-28) (aged 83)
Place of birth Cherokee, Iowa
Place of death Sioux Falls, South Dakota
Resting Place Saint Catherine Cemetery
Luverne, Minnesota
Allegiance United States
Service/branch United States Department of the Army Seal United States Army
Years of service 1942 - 1971
Rank US-O8 insignia Major General
Commands held U.S. Army Chaplain Corps
Battles/wars World War II
Korean War
Vietnam War
Awards Distinguished Service Cross ribbon Distinguished Service Cross
BronzeStarV Bronze Star (V)
Army Commendation Medal ribbon Army Commendation Medal

Father (Major General) Francis L. Sampson, USA (February 29, 1912 – January 28, 1996) was a Catholic priest from Archdiocese for the Military Services and an American Army officer who served as the 12th Chief of Chaplains of the United States Army from 1967 to 1971.[1] Notably, his real life story of his rescuing a young soldier became the inspiration for the film Saving Private Ryan.[2]

Awards and decorations[]

Distinguished Service Cross ribbon Distinguished Service Cross
V
Bronze Star ribbon
Bronze Star (with valor device)
Bronze oak leaf cluster
Army Commendation Medal ribbon
Army Commendation Medal (with one bronze oak leaf cluster)
Purple Heart BAR Purple Heart
Bronze oak leaf cluster
Bronze oak leaf cluster
Presidential Unit Citation ribbon
Presidential Unit Citation (with two bronze oak leaf clusters)
Prisoner of War ribbon Prisoner of War Medal
American Defense Service ribbon American Defense Service Medal
American Campaign Medal ribbon American Campaign Medal
Bronze star
Bronze star
European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign ribbon
European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal (with arrowhead device and two bronze service stars)
World War II Victory Medal ribbon World War II Victory Medal
Army of Occupation ribbon Army of Occupation Medal
Bronze oak leaf cluster
National Defense Service Medal ribbon
National Defense Service Medal (with one bronze oak leaf cluster)
Bronze star
Bronze star
Bronze star
Bronze star
KSMRib
Korean Service Medal (with four bronze service stars)
Croix de guerre 1939-1945 with palm French Croix de Guerre with Palm
Presidential Unit Citation (Korea) Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation
United Nations Service Medal for Korea Ribbon United Nations Service Medal for Korea

References[]

Further reading[]

Military offices
Preceded by
Charles E. Brown, Jr.
Chief of Chaplains of the United States Army
1967 – 1971
Succeeded by
Gerhardt W. Hyatt


All or a portion of this article consists of text from Wikipedia, and is therefore Creative Commons Licensed under GFDL.
The original article can be found at Francis L. Sampson and the edit history here.
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