Samuel Howard Hadley

Their Story

Samuel Howard Hadley was born on May 6, 1927, to Samuel and Bessie Hadley in Baumstown, Pennsylvania. After high school he joined the Army in 1945. He fought in the Vietnam War, Korean War, and World War II. He earned the WWII Victory Medal, Bronze Star, National Defense Service Medal, Army Commendation Medal, Vietnam Service Medal, Vietnam Campaign Medal, Army Occupation Medal, Good Conduct Medal, and Vietnam Act of Gallantry. For his years of service, he attained the rank of sergeant major.¹ A sergeant major would be considered a career rank because of the time it takes to achieve that rank. In order to achieve this rank, someone has to go through eight other ranks. A Sergeant Major assists officers getting ready for battle. They typically assist three hundred to one thousand soldiers. Another role is that they can help assist in policy development in their area of expertise.² He retired from the Army in 1975 after thirty years of service. After the Army he worked as a janitor at St. Joseph’s Church in Marseilles, Illinois. He also was a substitute bus driver.³

Samuel also had the opportunity to work at Argonne National Laboratory,⁴ located in Lemont, Illinois. This first came into play during the Manhattan project in the 1940s to build the atomic bomb. It is a collaborative effort among engineers and scientists to work on clean energy projects, protecting our environment, and protecting ourselves. Argonne works in different areas of expertise, such as computer science, biology, high energy physics, and more.⁵

On December 22, 1971, Samuel married his second wife, Carol, in Germany. He had six children and Carol had three children of her own. Unfortunately, their daughter Cynthia died of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome in 1972 at nine days old.⁶ Their family settled in Marseilles, Illinois.⁷

Samuel passed away on July 25, 2015. He is buried at the Rock Island Arsenal for his service and contribution to the military.⁸