Sampson, Francis Leon “Jumping Padre”.

Sampson, Francis Leon “Jumping Padre”, born on 29-02-1912 in Cherokee, Iowa, the son of Lumena Ryan and Harvey Sampson, a hotelier. He had two brothers, Cyrus B Sampson, 1909–1976 and George M. Sampson, 1910–1962. Francis lived in various cities during his childhood, including Pipestone, where his dad managed the Calumet Inn for a time. He attended Notre Dame University, graduating in 1937, and then entered St. Paul’s Seminary at Saint Paul, Minnesota. He was ordained to the Roman Catholic priesthood for the Des Moines, Iowa, diocese on 01-06-1941. Following his ordination, Father Sampson served briefly as a parish priest in Neola, Iowa, and also taught at Dowling High School in Des Moines. He entered the Army in early 1942, was commissioned as a first Lieutenant, and began his Army career at Camp Barkley, Texas. The month of January 1943, was spent in training at the Chaplain School. He then joined the 501^st Parachute Regiment,  commander Colonel “Jumpie” Johnson  of the 101^st Airborne Division,  as its regimental chaplain, commander General Maxwell Taylor.  He would be its chaplain for the rest of the war.

It was during the invasion of France, in the summer of 1944, that the story of Chaplain Sampson began to take on its legendary quality. Lawrence Critchell, in his book Four Stars of Hell,  described him as “one of the most respected and best-loved officers in the Regiment,” while Brigade General Samuel Lyman Atwood Marshall

 in Night Drop, portrays Sampson as “a jolly man, deeply loved by the Regiment.” It all began on D-Day, 6 June 1944. While the soldiers of the 501^st may have looked at their chaplain as a cool and heroic figure, Chaplain Sampson remembered that in those initial days among the hedgerows of Normandy, ” no pair of knees shook more than my own, nor any heart ever beat faster in time of danger.”

   The medics stayed with the wounded who could not be moved and so did Chaplain Sampson. At one point the area was taken over by units of the Waffen SS.  Chaplain Sampson was taken prisoner by two soldiers and put up against a wall to be shot. He recalled that he was so frightened that instead of reciting an Act of Contrition, the usual prayer for the forgiveness of sins, he kept repeating to himself the Catholic blessing before meals: “Bless us, Our Lord, and these Thy gifts, which we are about to receive through Thy bounty through Christ Our Lord, Amen.”  Rescued at the last minute by a German non-commissioned officer who turned out to be a Catholic, Chaplain Sampson was escorted to a nearby German intelligence post where he was interrogated, found harmless and then released. He returned to the aid station, and after experiencing a number of close calls, Sampson and the aid station were liberated by American troops. At this point Sampson found himself ministering not only to wounded U.S. soldiers, but also to German troops who had been brought to the station. Chaplain Sampson was later awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, the nation’s second highest American military award, for his actions during these days. The story of Saving Private Ryan is based very loosely on one of Father Sampson’s many exploits during the Normandy campaign. Learning that two of Sergeant Frederick “Fritz” Niland’s

brothers

Preston Niland  and Robert Niland  had been killed on D-Day and the day after, and that a third brother was reported missing in Burma, that brother mercifully was a Japanese POW and would survive the war, Father Sampson initiated the paperwork to get Sergeant Niland out of the fighting. He then escorted Niland back to Utah beach for eventual evacuation. Chaplain Sampson went with his regiment as it jumped into Holland, where he was nearly captured for a second time. After France, father Sampson again dropped into the water, now in the castle moat of castle Heeswijk Dinther and rescued by a local, here with the webmaster on the right spot   By early December 1944, the 101^st was taking a well-deserved rest from the fighting in a small French town just outside of Paris. The rest was to be brief, for the surprise assault by German forces through the Ardennes that month began what was to be called the Battle of the Bulge. General Dwight Eisenhower  ordered both the 82^nd  and the 101^st Airborne Divisions to the front. Their destination was a small village near Bastogne. In the confusion of the fighting, Sampson was taken prisoner on 19 December. This time there would be no quick resolution to his predicament. He was sealed in a train for six days without food or water, and the train was also attacked at intervals by American aircraft. Imprisoned in Stalag II A,

which was located north of Berlin near the city of Neubrandenburg, Chaplain Sampson at his request was allowed to remain in the enlisted men’s prison, rather than the officer’s prison. At midnight on 28-04-1945, Russian tanks belonging to the forces of Marshall Konstantin Rokossovski  Second Belorussian Front freed the camp, ending Sampson’s four months of bitter winter imprisonment. The following years saw him serve a number of important posts. He was regimental chaplain with the 187^th Airborne Infantry Regiment, from 1947 to 1951. While chaplain with the 187^th, Sampson found himself part of a massive airborne drop in Korea, near Sukch’on and Such’on, north of the North Korean capital of P’yongyang. General Douglas MacArthur

 hoped that this force could rescue American prisoners of war who it was assumed would be moved northward in the Communist retreat, while also cutting off North Korean officials and troops. Sent home to the United States in 1951, Sampson served as an instructor at the U.S. Army Chaplain School at Fort Slocum, New York, until 1954. He then served as the 11^th Airborne Division chaplain, between 1955 and 1958. More important assignments followed as he rose up the ladder in the chaplaincy. Promoted to full colonel in 1961, he served as Seventh Army Chaplain from 1962 to 1965 and then as the USCONARC Staff Chaplain in 1965. The next year he was appointed as the Deputy Chief of Chaplains of the United States Army and promoted to the rank of Brigadier General. Chaplain Sampson now found himself in a role far removed from his previous experience as a field chaplain.

He was now at the centre of power and responsibility, in the midst of an increasingly controversial and unpopular war in Vietnam. With the retirement of Chaplain (MG) Charles E. Brown as Chief of Chaplains in July 1967, Sampson succeeded him in that office. Now 55 years old and a veteran of 25 years of Army experience, Sampson was a popular choice. The appointment of Francis L. Sampson … may have appeared to some as a public-relations’ attempt to rescue the image of the chaplaincy. Sampson was, after all, a highly-decorated airborne hero of both World War II and the Korean conflict.  He wore the Distinguished Service Cross for his bravery in Europe and his exploits had been featured in three national television programs. Besides that, he had authored two books, numerous articles for periodicals, and was an outstanding athlete who had won seven Army regional tennis championships during his career. His service as Chief of Chaplains from 1967 to 1971, “was characterized by a genuinely personal esteem for the chaplain’s calling and a deep respect for the soldier’s profession.” His tenure as Chief, in the midst of these trying times, was filled with solid accomplishments. His management style was an open one. But this was a far different war than World War II, and Chaplain Sampson found himself dealing with such Army-wide problems as drug abuse, racial tension, and changing life styles.  As Chief of Chaplains, he gave a speech in 1970, in which he said that he was “proud of the soldiers of today — frankly, they are even better soldiers in most ways than their dads were. But just as 1775 and 1941-45 were times ‘that tried men’s souls,’ so too we move into 1971 with the sobering awareness that never before in our history have we faced a more critical phase in our national existence.” A few months before his retirement as Chief of Chaplains on 31-07-1971, Chaplain Sampson gave a speech, part of which captures the philosophy he operated under both as a field chaplain and as Chief of Chaplains. In civilian life many people misunderstand the military mission. I have spoken at various universities and have been challenged by this misunderstanding. I have been asked how I can wear the uniform which symbolizes war and also wear the cross upon it symbolizing peace. One would think that they should find the answer to the very question they proposed — for such questioners are of lofty academic standards, positions and responsibilities. which of themselves cannot repel the aggression of avaricious neighbours. I see nothing in this mission that does not appeal to the highest ideals of any man — regardless of his religion. Indeed, it was Cardinal O’Neal, the great Churchman, who once said if he had not been a priest he most certainly would have had to be a soldier, because they are both called to the identical things — that is — the preservation of peace, the establishment of justice when it has been lost, and the providing of security with protection for the weak and the innocent. His words are a fitting testimonial to a memorable thirty-year career as both soldier and chaplain. We met father Sampson in 1995, when he was already very sick, but still wanted to have a lunch with my wife and me, organized by my 101^st veteran friend EIrid Eitreim and his dear wife Carol. Father Sampson presented me his signed book, “Look out below”

    and dronk a whiskey, a very sympathetic man who invited us to his house, half a museum with all his decorations and pictures. Three months later he passed away, age 83, of stomach cancer, on 28-01-1996, two weeks before he sent me a letter. I was presented, with great thanks, by the O’Hara’s, Bonnie and Tom, neighbours of father Sam, who took care of father Sampson for 15 years until his death, with his original 101^st AB shoulder patch, his Major star, his jumping wing, his clerical cross, his US badge and his older Captain badge, and documents, really dear memorials of father Sam.

Death and burial ground of Sampson, Francis Leon “Jumping Padre”.

   Major General Father Sampson is buried on the St. Catharines cemetery in Luverne, Minnasota. The stone that read: Lord, make me an instrument of your peace. Years later we visited his grave (see About) with our veteran friend Eirid “Ike” Eitreim and his great wife Carol.

Michael Cavanaugh from Los Angeles reported that Father Sampson had a new gravestone and sent me the photo’s, with thank.