Lieutenant General Samuel Tankersley Williams (August 25, 1897 – April 26, 1984) was a senior United States Army officer. Williams became prominent in army history for being reduced in rank from brigadier general to colonel, and then resuscitating his career to again advance to general officer rank. He also commanded the 25th Infantry Division during the Korean War and served as commander of Military Assistance and Advisory Group – Vietnam, the predecessor to Military Assistance Command – Vietnam.
Biography
Early life and military career
Williams was born in Denton, Texas on August 25, 1897. He attended the schools of Denton, and graduated from Denton High School in 1916. In May 1916, he enlisted as a private in the Texas Army National Guard. He took part in the expedition against Pancho Villa, advancing to corporal and sergeant in 1917. Having claimed an 1896 date of birth in order to meet the minimum age for a commission, In May 1917 Williams began the officers training course at Camp Bullis, Leon Springs, Texas. He received his commission in August 1917, four months after the American entry into World War I, and was appointed a second lieutenant in the Infantry Branch of the Officer Reserve Corps.
From 1917 to 1919, Williams served with the 359th Infantry Regiment, part of the 90th Division, as part of the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) on the Western Front. He took part in offensives including the Battle of Saint-Mihiel, and the Meuse–Argonne offensive, the largest battle in the history of the United States Army, and in the Toul Sector, receiving a serious wound while serving as company commander of Company I of the regiment's 3rd Battalion.
Between the wars
After the war ended on November 11, 1918, he remained in the army and was assigned to the 30th Infantry Regiment. Williams was commissioned as a first lieutenant in the Regular Army in 1920. He continued to serve in positions of increasing rank and responsibility in the 1920s and 1930s, including assignments with the 21st Infantry Regiment in Hawaii and the 29th Infantry Regiment at Fort Benning, Georgia.
Williams was also an avid polo player, and was a member of the army team that won international championships in the 1920s.
He completed the Infantry Company Officers Course at Fort Benning in 1926 and the Infantry Officer Advanced Course in 1931. He graduated from the U.S. Army Command and General Staff School in 1936 and the U.S. Army War College in 1938. On August 18, 1940, as the United States was preparing for World War II, he was promoted to lieutenant colonel.
World War II
The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and the subsequent German declaration of war against the United States in December 1941 officially brought the country into World War II, and, by 1943, Williams was the commanding officer (CO) of the 378th Infantry Regiment, part of the 95th Infantry Division, after having been promoted to the rank of colonel in the Army of the United States (AUS) on August 7, 1942. Williams was in command of the 378th Infantry at Camp Swift, Texas when a member of the organization was tried for the rape and murder of a nine-year-old girl. Williams was a member of the court-martial, and growing annoyed with the drawn-out proceedings, suggested that the trial ought to be ended quickly, since the defendant's guilt was not in doubt and he deserved execution by hanging. The nickname "Hanging Sam" attached to him as a result, and remained with him for the rest of his career.
Williams was subsequently promoted to the rank of brigadier general (AUS) on March 22, 1943, and named as the Assistant Division Commander (ADC) of the 90th "Tough Ombres" Infantry Division, the organization with which he had served in during World War I. Reactivated for World War II, the 90th Division took part in Operation Overlord, the Allied invasion of Northern France, in June 1944.
The 90th Infantry Division landed at Utah Beach on D-Day+1 (June 7, 1944, a day after the initial invasion). While en route to their landing site, Williams and numerous 90th Division soldiers were on board the transport ship Susan B. Anthony when it struck a mine. Though he did not know how to swim, Williams supervised the evacuation of the wounded and transfer of soldiers to rescue craft, and then on to Utah Beach. He risked his life to venture below deck, overcoming smoke and darkness to ensure that everyone had been evacuated. He was the last one to leave the ship, which was abandoned and sank. All 2,689 people aboard were saved, which the Guinness Book of World Records lists as the largest rescue of people without loss of life. Williams received the Soldier's Medal for his actions.