Samuel James Hannah
Second Lieutenant
3RD PLT, D CO, 1ST BN, 26TH MARINES, 3RD MARDIV, III MAF
United States Marine Corps
Reily, Ohio
October 06, 1942 to June 07, 1968
SAMUEL J HANNAH is on the Wall at Panel W59, Line 22
See the full profile or name rubbing for Samuel Hannah

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18 Jun 1999

I do not fear an army of lions,
if they are led by a lamb.
I do fear an army of sheep,
if they are led by a lion.
-- Alexander the Great --


Sam Hannah was a lion.

Samuel J. Hannah was buried with full military honors
in the National Cemetery in Fayetteville, Arkansas, his hometown.

From his cousin,
Ed Enslinger
ee2836@yahoo.com


 

A Note from The Virtual Wall

On 07 June 1968 the 1st Bn, 26th Marines were conducting a sweep along the Bon Song River. Alpha 1/26 was providing a screening force along the river while Delta 1/26 was moving through the hills along the river. Charlie 1/26 was in echelon behind Delta, with the Command Group and H&S Company bringing up the rear.

As Delta 1/26 crested a ridgeline they took fire from a trenchline. The company established a base of fire, flanked the trenchline, and forced the NVA to withdraw - but they didn't withdraw far; a second set of fortifications lay only 50 yards behind the first. Charlie 1/26 sent help and Delta buckled down to assaulting the second trench line - and once again forced the NVA from their lines.

This action, though costly, was only a prelude. The NVA troops engaged by Delta 1/26 were a covering force for the NVA main body, which withdrew into the Alpha 1/26 position - and were engaged by the Alpha 1/26 Marines in a bloody fight. By the time the NVA escaped through the gap between Alpha's flank and the oncoming Delta Marines, 20 Marines and 2 sailors were dead:

  • A Company:
    • 2ndLt Paul M. McGrath, Rye, NY
    • SSgt Donald M. Cuff, Wilmington, DE
    • Cpl George A. Essary, Chattanooga, TN
    • Cpl Jerome D. Kupperschmidt, Sandwich, IL
    • Cpl Gregory A. Shelley, Palisades Park, NJ
    • LCpl Edward L. Bradford, Westville, OK
    • LCpl Kevin M. Coyne, Silver Spring, MD
    • LCpl Michael W. Travis, Sweetser, IN
    • Pfc Michael P. Becker, Omaha, NE
    • Pfc Jerry N. Christman, Williams, AZ
    • Pfc Carl M. Middlebrooks, Baltimore, MD
    • Pfc Alton L. Staples, Cincinnati, OH
    • Pfc Ernest L. Wesley, Stockbridge, GA

  • C Company:
    • Cpl David E. Dixon, Miami, FL

  • D Company:
    • 2ndLt Samuel J. Hannah, Reily, OH (Silver Star)
    • Sgt Thomas R. Cores, Del Rio, TX
    • Cpl Normand C. Deschaine, Lewiston, ME
    • Cpl Johnnie B. Espy, Montclair, NJ
    • LCpl David O. Auen, Blairsville, PA
    • LCpl John A. Scarpinato, La Puente, CA

  • H&S Company:
    • HM3 Ramon Leyba, Albuquerque, NM (H&S Co, w/ Alpha 1/26)
    • HN Ronald E. Rockefeller, Tivoli, NY
In a tragic coincidence, Lance Corporal Michael Travis's elder brother, Corporal Edmund B. Travis, an artilleryman with Alpha 1/13 Marines, had been killed in action on 27 June 1967 while serving on a Forward Observer team with the 1/26 Marines at Khe Sanh.

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