lest we forget

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lest we forget

Postby freakb » Sun Nov 08, 2009 9:55 pm

Samuel Edward Avery was a true “Citizen Soldier”; one who lived for peace but trained for war and fulfilled his duty with honor on foreign fields of battle.

Born 12/19/1891, Sam grew up in the city of Boston as the third of four siblings in a loving, working-class family. He graduated from the public schools in Charlestown, Massachusetts and at the time of these writings had civilian employment as a Shipper with the Bristol Patent Leather Company in Boston. Sam enlisted in the Massachusetts Volunteer Militia in 1912 at the age of 21. He qualified as a Sharpshooter and rose through the ranks to eventually become First Sergeant with K Company, 8th Regiment of the Massachusetts National Guard based at the Somerville Armory (now an art gallery).

He served during the Mexican Border Campaign near El Paso, Texas in 1916 and then was mobilized into the American Expeditionary Forces as a member of the 103rd Infantry Regiment, 52nd Infantry Brigade, 26th “Yankee” Infantry Division. The “YD” saw 210 days of combat in France during 1917-1918 including the Champagne-Marne, Aisne-Marne, St. Mihiel and Meuse-Argonne campaigns, during which it suffered 13,664 casualties. Sam kept a pocket diary in which he noted the names of those in his unit who were killed or wounded during their time in the line. Ultimately Sam himself was injured by the effects of a German gas attack and was hospitalized for more than 2 months before rejoining his unit for the final offensive.

After remaining in France for 4 months following the Armistice, Sam finally returned to the United States aboard a troop ship in early April, 1919 and received an Honorable Discharge from the U.S. Army for Honest & Faithful Service at Camp Devens on 4/28/1919. Almost 24 years later at the age of 49 Sam would reenlist in May, 1942 and serve again as a First Sergeant in the Massachusetts State Guard on the home front until his final discharge in August, 1945.

These letters and diary notes in Sam’s own words tell the compelling story of life as a U.S. soldier on the front lines of World War I from the hot dry sands along the Rio Grande to the cold wet mud along the Meuse.





lets just thank fun sgt sam for what he did in ww2 :lol:
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Postby sargent sam » Mon Nov 09, 2009 7:13 pm

Let me address this post in two ways

1: i hope freakb is not trying to point out that i am old enough to remember the Great war let alone remember the 2nd one :)

2: i have taken the name sgt sam from the great usa solider partly from what he represents and also partly that its my son's name [FuN] pvt Sam . Both who great shots [unlike me] . i am sure if the orginal samuel were alive today and gaming he also would be one hell of a FuNner 8)
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By FuNsgtSaM at 2007-07-23

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