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1944
The boundary, stated first: Francis L. Sampson was born at Cherokee, Iowa, and was not a South Bend man by birth, residence, or entry into service. He stands in this record on Notre Dame's ground and by Notre Dame's tie alone: he was a student at the university from 1933, graduating in 1937, and after the war he returned to serve it. He is printed here, plainly framed, because the decoration is of the first rank and the ground he stands on in this county is this county's ground — and because a reader of this record will look for him here.
The Distinguished Service Cross: Sampson served as chaplain of the 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division, and jumped with the regiment into Normandy. His Distinguished Service Cross was published in War Department General Orders No. 91 of 19 December 1944, for 6–7 June 1944 at Balise Addeville, France — the regiment's first two days in France, in which the chaplain's aid work under fire is the citation's subject. In December 1944 he was captured at Bastogne and spent the remainder of the war as a prisoner in German hands. After the war he returned to Notre Dame, serving as an assistant to the university's president and, from 1983 to 1987, as director of its ROTC programs.
Sources:
- War Department General Orders No. 91 (19 December 1944), as carried in the Military Times Hall of Valor — Sampson's Distinguished Service Cross, unit, place, and dates of action.
- University of Notre Dame records of Sampson's student years (1933–37), his captivity at Bastogne, and his postwar service at the university (assistant to the president; Director of ROTC, 1983–87).