Information/Facts
In the Beginning
Sampson WW-2 Navy Veterans Organization
September 1985 through September 1988
The idea to organize the Sampson navy veterans came to mind when my wife and I returned to Sampson for a visit in the fall of 1985. It was a shock to see that most of the original buildings were no longer there. This is when the idea occurred to form an organization.
The first chair officers to be elected were, Ray Schaffer, V.P. Clifton Springs, New York (now deceased); Bill Guyette, Treasurer, Tunkhannock, PA; and Bill Russell, President, Corryton, TN. Bill Guyette is the only member who has ever served in two different chair positions (Treasurer and Recording Secretary). He is also a Charter Member. Claude O. Yale, Traphill, NC is the only member of the present executive board who is a charter member.
The first three members to contact me after I started placing "searching notices" in various veterans publications and newspapers were: (1) Calvin N. Chamberlain, (2) Wesley C. Billington, and (3) Richard T. Meyers. We had our first meeting at the VFW Post 6433 in Waterloo, NY on September 12, 1987. Approximately 150 people were present and only 48 thought enough of the idea to join.
It isn't easy to organize an official veterans organization. To start with, you don't have an official organization until you have by-laws. After the by-laws were written and approved by the membership, they also have to be approved by the Internal Revenue Service. The next step was to submit an application to the postal authorities for a 3rd class bulk mailing permit. Then I contacted the Department of Defense for official recognition. This recognition as granted on May 7, 1990 (letter on file). This was followed up by an application to the State of New York to incorporate. Once the above mentioned goals had been accomplished, we were on our way.
Communications: It is no simple task to develop and maintain an adequate communication system for the membership of an organization whose members reside in various states and countries. A good way to start is a newsletter mailed to each member several times a year. This within itself is not adequate. The answer was to organize chapters in each state. It was a simple idea that proved to be very difficult to accomplish.
A special "thank you" should also go to Diana Fackler, Medina, NY who served this organization faithfully. She held the positions as Business Secretary and Business Secretary/Treasurer. It should also be noted that she provided secretarial services without any financial compensation for several months when we were trying to get the organization started.
Sincerely yours in comradeship,
William R. Russell
Founder & Former President
Sampson Naval Training Station
Historical Information Part 1
According to the official records, Sampson was one of three new Naval Training Stations constructed during WW-2. On Thursday, May 14, 1942, the President of the United States approved the site of Seneca Lake for a Naval Training Station and Hospital. Letters of Intent to the Contractor and Architect-Engineer were issued on May 23, 1942 and May 24, 1942 respectively. Construction actually started in early June 1942. Plans called for a recruit training capacity of 30,000 men, and school facilities for accommodating 4,500 station personnel. Captain Henry A. Badt was the Commanding Officer of the Sampson facility.
Hospital: Capt. Claude W. Carr was the Chief Medical Officer of the 1,500 bed hospital. The hospital consisted of 44 Ward Buildings, Eight Operating Suites, Entire X-Ray Wing and Physiotherapy Unit. It was built at a cost of $5,000,000 in a period of six months. The hospital provided treatment to the personnel assigned to the station as well as to the Army, Marines and Coast Guard when necessary.
The Sampson Naval Training Station as literally a city within itself. The Naval Training Station as named after Rear Admiral William Thomas Sampson, hero of the battle of Santiago in the Spanish American War. The facility was built at a cost of $50,000,000. Some examples of the magnitude of the station: There were 58 miles of roads, 468 buildings, and approximately ten miles of railroad tracks which were corrected to the Lehigh Valley Railroad. The water supply system included a two million gallon concrete reservoir. The system also had a water pumping station with five million gallons per day capacity powered with five electric driven pumps. There was a complete street lighting system throughout the station and hospital area consisting of approximately 762 lights. The telephone system at the station was installed by the New York Telephone Company. There were also fifty miles of power lines, thirty miles of sewage lines, and a modern sewage disposal plant.
Buildings: There were approximately thirty buildings in each of the five training units and one service school unit to teach special trades. There was also a large auditorium, an administration building, two chapels, storehouses, laundry, a cold storage center, bakery, officers barracks and mess, five separate residence for senior officer, and a housing unit used by both civilian employees at the base as well as officers. In addition to these were two entire additional units, similar to the six others, one ws for the so called ships company, or permanent staff of second and first class seamen, petty and chief-petty officers, and known as O.G.U. or outgoing unit.
Drill Halls - Part 2
Drill Halls: This is a building that everyone in each unit seems to remember. They were massive buildings measuring approximately 625' x 120' including a 75' x 50' swimming pool. Some of the drill halls were sold and moved to other locations after the Sampson facility was closed. One of these buildings was moved to the Springfield College in Springfield, MA and formally dedicated at the site in June 1948. It was declared unsafe and permanently closed in May 1979.
Two other drill halls from Sampson were brought by the Middlebury College, Middlebury, VT in 1948. One was rebuilt and still in use by the college as recently as 1995. The other one deteriorated and had to be torn down. Some of the information in this paragraph is contained in a letter written by a Mr. Stephen A. Freeman, Vice President, Emeritus. Co-Chairman, Historical Commission, Middlebury College, date April 15, 1988.
Another drill hall was bought by two farmers who live in the vicinity of Spencerport and Brockport, New York. It was cut in half and used as for storage. It was still in use in August, 1993. This drill hall must have been the one from Unit E.
I have pictures that were taken of Unit E in the early 60s. They clearly show that the buildings are intact but badly in need of repair.
Training Units at Sampson
Part 3
The first training unit was officially completed in September, 1942 and the station as formally commissioned on October 17, 1942, coinciding with the arrival of the first group of recruits.
Units at Sampson were named after war heroes, past and present. Roads were named after heroes born in the State of New York.
Five Recruit Training Units at Sampson:
1. Callaghan (First Regiment) opened 23 January 1943. Named after Daniel Judson Callaghan, former Naval Aide to the President, who was killed on the cruiser San Francisco during the Solomons Campaign, 1942. Company numbers assigned to this unit ranged from 100 to 199.
2. Dewey (Second Regiment) opened 11 March 1943. Named after Rear Admiral George Dewey, Spanish American War. Company numbers assigned started at 200 and went to 299.
3. Edward (Third Regiment) opened 11 March 1943. Named after John O. Edwards who was killed in the battle of the Coral Sea and posthumously honored as a radioman-gunner. Company number ranged from 300 to 399.
4. Farragut (Fourth Regiment) Opened October 20, 1942. Company number assigned ranged from 400 to 499. Named after Captain David G. Farragut who led the fleet against the fortified fort at Mobile during the Civil War.
5. Gilmore (Fifth Regiment) Opened 10 November, 1942. Named after Commander Howard S. Gilmore, USN, Commander of the submarine Growler. He was wounded on the deck during action in the Pacific and ordered the crew to "take her down" rather than jeopardize his ship and crew. He was liked.
6. Other Units: B - Ships Company and some O.G.U.; A- Administration; H -Service Schools; K - School Buildings; L - O.G.U. and some medical; L16 - Psychiatric (Observation); M - Storage and Warehouse.
There were 411,429 recruits trained at Sampson during WW-2. Most of the recruits were from New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and the New England area. However, there were also men there from states such as Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Tennessee, Georgia, maryland, West Virginia, Virginia, Delaware, etc. An attempt was made to keep the number of recruits in each company to 112. Several reports have been made to me by men who were in companies consisting of 130 to 135. Due to the needs of the Navy, the training periods ranged from sixteen weeks to a month. Most of the companies were in training for a period of six to eight weeks. Records also show that some companies in the early part of 1944 only had four weeks of training.
General Information
Part 4
There were twenty two Chaplains at Sampson. Twelve were Protestant, nine Catholic, and one Jewish Commander William W. Edel, USN, was the senior chaplain. Note: Commander Edel was still living with the daughter in El Cajon, CA in the summer of 1995. I understand that he is now deceased. He volunteered in the Navy during WW-1.
According to the official records, the first compliment of WAVES (20) arrived at Sampson in September 1943. It is believed that they were all pharmacist mates. Seven of the original 20 were still there in August 1945. I could never find records to indicate the total number of WAVES assigned to Sampson at one time or another during the war. Articles published in the official Sampson Newsletter during World War 2 indicates that there were literally hundreds of WAVES stationed at the facility.
Numerous attempts were made to obtain records from the Naval Archives in Washington, D.C. pertaining to the number of men and women who received training at the various service schools. No such information was available. Records clearly show that there were service schools to train naval personnel for special jobs such as Mail Clerks, Dental Technicians, X-Ray Technicians, Stenographers, Cooks & Bakers, Electronics, Radio, Signal, Storekeepers, Gunnery, and many other specialized fields. We have no idea how many men and women graduated from these schools but that number had to be in the thousands.
Footnote: The above articles are not intended to be comprehensive. There is enough technical information available on the old Sampson Naval Training Station and Center to write a book consisting of several hundred pages. It is, therefore, impossible to fully describe the facility that so many of us remember in this manner. It should also be remembered that the spelling of people's names may vary.
Units at Sampson
(Information from Navy Archives)
In addition to the groups of about thirty buildings in each of the five recruit training units and one service school unit, Sampson has a large general auditorium, an administration building and annex, two chapels, numerous storehouses, a laundry, a cold storage center, a bakery, officers barracks and officers mess, five separate residences for senior officers, and a housing unit used by both civilian workers at the center and naval personnel (officers below the rank of Lieutenant Commander, and enlisted personnel and families).
There are also two entire additional units, similar to the six others, one for ships company, or permanent staff of second and first class seamen, petty and chief petty officers, an the others known as O.G.U. or Outgoing Unit.
The various units at the center have been named after war heroes, past and present, while roads are named after heroes born in the State of New York. The following are among choices made:
Units: Captain Mervyn Sharp Bennion, who lost his life on the battleship Arizona at Pearl Harbor; Rear Admiral Daniel Judson Callaghan, former Naval Aide to the President, who was killed on the cruiser San Francisco during the Solomons campaign; the Rear Admiral George Dewey, Spanish American War hero; John O. Edwards, killed during the battle of the Coral Sea and posthumously honored for this achievements as radioman-gunner; Rear Admiral Isaac Campbell Kidd, killed on the Arizona; and Captain Cassin Young, killed on the San Francisco.
On October 20, 1942, Farragut Unit was placed in operation as a training unit. While awaiting completion of the Main Administration Building, many of the station administrative offices had been located in Farragut Unit Headquarters, but by this date they had all been transferred. Executive Officer's Memorandum #16, dated October 17, 1942, reads, in part, as follows:
"On Tuesday morning 20 October, at 0730, the Officer of the Day will shift his office from the F-Unit Administration Building to the Main Administration Building."
Ships company personnel were also berthed in Farragut unit at this time. The other training units were placed in operation on the following dates:
Gilmore Unit (Fifth Regiment) - 10 November 1942
Callaghan Unit (First Regiment) - 23 January 1943
Dewey Unit (Second Regiment) - 11 March 1943
Edward Unit (Third Regiment) - 11 March 1943
Recruit Training Memorandum #65-43 listed the organization in each regiment and named the following officers as Regimental Commanders:
Callaghan Unit - Lt. T.M. Menke
Dewey Unit - Lt. J.W. Jockusch, Jr.
Edward Unit - Lt. A.P. Cervini
Farragut Unit - Lt. P. Cheney
Gilmore Unit - Lt. L.L. Scott
Additional Information on the Units:
B Unit: Ships Company and some O.G.U.
A Unit: Administration
H Unit: Service Schools
K Unit: School Building
L Unit: O.G.U. and some Medical
L 16: Psychiatric (Observation)
M Unit: Storage & Warehouse
