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Personal info

Full name
WILLOUGHBY, Sampson C
Date of birth
1 March 1924
Age
21
Place of birth
Mount Sterling, Montgomery County, Kentucky
Hometown
Bartholomew County, Indiana

Military service

Service number
35097978
Rank
Technician Fourth Grade
Function
Mechanic
Unit
D Company,
36th Tank Battalion,
8th Armored Division
Awards
Silver Star,
Purple Heart

Death

Status
Killed in Action
Date of death
5 March 1945
Place of death
Kamp-Lintfort, Germany

Grave

Cemetery
American War Cemetery Margraten
Plot Row Grave
D 2 4

Immediate family

Members
Berning F. Willoughby (father)
Nora Willoughby (mother)
Mary E. Willoughby (sister)
Noah B. Willoughby (brother)
Berning F. Willoughby (brother)
Willie Willoughby (brother)
Beulah M. Willoughby (sister)
Thelma R. Willoughby (sister)
Ann Willoughby (sister)
Ellen Henderson (fiancee)

More information

T/4 Sampson C. Willoughby graduated from Columbus High School in 1942. He was employed by Noblitt-Sparks Industries.

He enlisted at Fort Benjamin Harrison, Indiana on 18 March 1943 and took most of his training at Camp Polk, Louisiana. He attended the Armored Forces School at Fort Knox, Kentucky, for a course in tank mechanics, and had been overseas since November 1944.

The company moved northeast to Lintfort, suffering one casualty from sniper fire, (of which they had been warned) enroute. Sgt Willoughby dismounted from his tank under a hail of mortar and machine gun fire to hook a tow cable to his tank which had stalled during intense enemy action. After the vehicle had been started, he again dismounted to uncouple the tow cable. While so doing, he was fatally wounded. For this action, he was awarded the Silver Star Medal posthumously.

Source of information: Raf Dyckmans, Terry Hirsch, Peter Schouteten, www.wwiimemorial.com, www.archives.gov, www.8th-armored.org, www.ancestry.com - 1930 Census, www.newspapers.com - The Republic Columbus Indiana, WWII Draft Card

Photo source: www.findagrave.com - Des Philippet, www.ancestry.com - Columbus High School Yearbook 1942