Samuel T. Fuller
1st Lt. Samuel T. Fuller
Infantry - U.S. Army
1913-1944
Samuel T. Fuller was a graduate of Kennett High School in the Class of 1931. He was the son of Mr. & Mrs. John H. Fuller of North Conway, NH. Sam entered the Army as a private on June 29, 1941. In November of 1943, he went overseas with a motorized infantry division, as a first lieutenant. He received his Ed.M at the University of Vermont in 1941.
Sam was killed in action on July 27, 1944, presumably in an operation about St. Lo in France, as a part of the Normandy invasion by Allied Forces. He had been in combat for a short period of time when he was mortally wounded.
Born in Brandon, VT on June 22, 1913 he was the 10th generation in the direct male line of descent from Dr. Samuel Fuller of the Mayflower.
As a young boy, Sam attended school in Lancaster, NH and in 1926 he came to live in Conway when his father was elected to be Superintendent of Schools in Conway. Sam entered Kennett High School in the fall of 1927 and was an outstanding scholar-athlete, playing football, basketball and baseball. After graduation from Kennett in 1931 he entered Bates College.
While at Bates, Sam continued as an outstanding scholar-athlete. He was chosen as All-Maine guard in football, was a member of the Student Council, President of the Outing Club, Vice-President of the Athletic Council and Treasurer of the Varsity Club. Sam was the first member of his class to be killed in action in World War II.
After his graduation from Bates, Sam taught and coached for two years at Wilbraham Academy, and then came to Kennett as a teacher-coach in the fall of 1936. In 1939 he left Kennett and assumed the position of Headmaster of Jefferson High School, NH where he remained until he was inducted into the Army in June 1941. Shortly after, Sam was given an honorable discharge because of his age, and for a short time he was Headmaster of Hollis High School, NH.
After the Japanese attack at Pearl Harbor, Sam once again enlisted in the U.S. Army, actually joining the armed forces on January 12, 1942. In September of 1942, he graduated from the Infantry O.C.S at Ft. Benning, Georgia with a commission as a 2nd Lieutenant. He was sent to the Ranger School and by June, he was promoted to 1st Lieutenant. Both in his country and overseas, Sam was used primarily as an instructor in Range firing and Ranger tactics.
Sam, at the time of his death, was engaged to be married to Miss Margery Harvey of Liverpool, England, who was a member of the British Women’s Auxiliary Force.
Soon after the end of World War II, the body of Sam Fuller was returned to Conway and he was buried with full military honors in the Conway Village Cemetery. Before this, the body was moved into the Kennett Gym, where it remained with an Honor Guard until time for the departure to the Cemetery.
Among the pall-bearers for the funeral procession to the Village Cemetery were Headmaster Ellis W. McKeen, (Kennett Headmasters), Karl Seidensteucker and George T Davidson, (Kennett Coaches) and Milton Lindholm, (classmate and teammate of Sam’s at Bates).
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| Sam Fuller's Grave in the Conway Village Cemetery - Conway NH |
Lt. Sam Fuller posthumously was awarded the Silver Star. His citation reads:
“For gallantry in action on July 26, 1944 in the vicinity of Lessay. Lieutenant Fuller was leading a machine gun section in support of the advancing infantry when an enemy tank attack developed and the area was swept by 75mm and machine gun fire. Unable to locate the tank because of thick hedgerows, Lieutenant Fuller directed his machine gunners to deliver covering fire while he led the rocket launcher team forward in an attempt to locate the enemy tank. Although mortally wounded upon reaching the forward hedgerow, he directed the disposition and fire of the rocket team and supervised the evacuation of the many wounded men in the area. His great personal courage and devotion to duty enabled the infantry to hold its position in the face of demoralizing tank fire and so inspired them that the enemy resistance was broken and objective seized.”
A Bates alumnus in 1945 wrote:
“A true evaluation of Sam’s character is difficult to make. His were qualities which had to be known to be fully appreciated. For those of us who knew him well, no such evaluation is necessary. We will remember him as a good athlete, one who loved the sport for sport’s sake and vener for the attendant acclaim. Like most men New Hampshire bred, he has a great love of the outdoors, so it was natural that he should make a notable contribution to the activities of the outing club and winter sports teams.
As a student he was conscientious and able; he was a respected member of the students administration, always fair and ready to see both sides of the problem. Sam was very much one of the boys, but in so being never lost sight of his own personal aims and integrity. Among his most endearing qualities was a typical New England sense of humor which enabled him to see things in their proper perspective.
A steadfast as the mountains that bred him, as wholesome as the outdoors he loved, Sam will be greatly missed by all who knew him.”
Sam Fuller Football Award Winners
The Sam Fuller Football Award was established in the fall 1947 by a member of Sam’s friends who wished to perpetuate the memory of this young man who was so much part of the Kennett Tradition.
The Kennett Alumni Association is currently looking for any Sam Fuller Award receipts to update our records. If you were awarded the Sam Fuller Award please send an email to kennett@alumni@gmail.com with your name and year of graduation. Thank you
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