Citadel Alumni Obituaries

Lt. Col. James Hagood “Sammy” Sams, U. S. Air Force (Ret.), 89, of
Savannah, GA, and formerly of Warner Robins, GA, widower of Emily Jane
Woosley Sams, died Sunday afternoon, March 17, 2013, at Savannah
Rehabilitation and Nursing Center and under the care of Odyssey Hospice.
Born in Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina, he was a son of the late The Reverend
William Bee Sams and the late Bertha Hutson Sams. “Hagood,” as he was called
by his family, attended elementary school in Mt. Pleasant and three years of
high school in Charleston, SC, before graduating from General William
Moultrie High School in Mt. Pleasant. He received a scholarship to attend
The Citadel in Charleston where he studied engineering. With the outbreak of
World War II, he enlisted in the U.S. Air Force and entered Aviation Cadet
Training before graduating and receiving his commission as 2nd Lieutenant on
May 23, 1944. During WWII, he flew over 20 missions in Germany as a B-26
Marauder Pilot. After the war he returned home and was released from active
duty. In April 1947, he went to work for Eastern Air Lines as a Reservations
and Operations Agent where he would meet his future bride, Emily Jane
Woosley. Having remained active in the Air Force Reserves, he volunteered
for recall during the Korean Conflict. He spent some months overseas before
returning home and taking a number of duty assignments all over the country
prior to his final military retirement on September 1, 1969. Sammy, as he
was known by his friends, enjoyed bowling and golf, especially golf. He was
a life member of The Retired Officers Association, later MOAA, and a member
of the Air Force Association, the Officer’s Club, the Pine Oaks Golf Club at
Robins Air Force Base, and the Waterford Golf Club. Among his awards and
decorations were the Air Medal with three Oak Leaf Clusters, Air Force
Commendation Medal with three Oak Leaf Clusters, World War II Victory Medal,
European Campaign medal with two Battle Stars, and the Army of Occupation
Medal (Germany). Surviving are two sons, Gerald Woosley Sams and his
partner, Cynthia Barnard, of Corte Madera, California, and James H. “Jim”
Sams, Jr. and his wife, Linda, of Savannah, Georgia; nieces, Cynthia Powell
and her husband, Sinky, Diane Wise, Julia Sams-Holleman and her husband,
Michael, and nephews, Lt. Gen. John B. Sams, USAF (Ret.) and his wife,
Suzanne, William L. Sams and his wife, Sara, B.B. Sams, Jr. and his wife,
Barbara, Alan B. Sams and his wife, Diane, Bill Sams, Thomas Legare and his
wife, Marcia, and William E. Legare. The family will receive friends from 5
until 7 o’clock Wednesday at Gamble Funeral Service – 410 Stephenson Avenue,
Savannah, and from 1 until 2 o’clock Thursday afternoon in the Robins Air
Force Base chapel – 655 Ninth Street. The funeral service will be held at 2
o’clock Thursday afternoon in the Robins Air Force Base chapel conducted by
Chaplain Kenneth E. Harp. Interment, with full military honors, will be in
Magnolia Park Cemetery in Warner Robins. Remembrances: – Post Office Box
1000, Memphis, Tennessee 38148-0142. Please share your thoughts about Lt.
Col. Sams and his life at www.gamblefuneralservice.com. Gamble Funeral
Service, Savannah, is in charge of the arrangements. Visit our guestbook at
www.legacy.com/obituaries/ charleston.

Tags: 1945