Soft launch: Soldier biographies and research notes vary in completeness. Prefer class-roster, NARA, newspapers, and other cited sources for contested facts — treat Research notes as leads, not settled history. Anyone can correct a page; contact us with questions.
Samuel Matthews Vauclain, III
| Samuel Matthews Vauclain, III | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1915 |
| Died | 20 November 2007 |
| Nativity | United States |
| Religion | Protestant |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  United States |
| Branch |  United States Army |
| Arm / service | Field Artillery |
| ASN | 01172324 |
| Rank | Second Lieutenant |
| Camp Ritchie | Class 3 (2 November – 23 December 1942) |
| Section | E |
{{Needs source}}, or explain disagreements on talk. Baseline import notes: About the data.
Samuel M. III Vauclain (1915 – 20 November 2007) was a Ritchie Boy (from United States; Protestant) who trained at Camp Ritchie in class 3.
Biography
Samuel was born in Bryn Mawr, PA on July 3, 1915.
He attended The Haverford School, graduating from The Lawrenceville School in 1933. He graduated from Princeton University in 1938 and was a member of The Elm Club. After graduation, he went to work as a geological scout for the Sun Oil Company in Mississippi.
Drafted into the Army on December 10, 1941, he completed his basic training at Fort Bragg. Sill, OK, Sam was commissioned 2nd Lieutenant in October 1942, and transferred to the Military Intelligence Training Center at Camp Ritchie, MD where he taught a terrain intelligence course.
In January 1944, he was shipped to the South Pacific, serving in the Intelligence Service at Lae, Finchhaven and Hollandia in New Guinea. He collected the Bronze Star Medal and Philippine Liberation Award, leaving the Army as a Captain in January 1946. In 1947, he was transferred to Jackson, MS as assistant district geologist, and, in 1952, he was moved to Sun Oil's Philadelphia headquarters as regional staff geologist.
Appointed Head Staff Geologist in 1956 for Sun's U.S. Vauclain returned to work with Sun Oil's exploration office in Tallahassee. Then on to Leyte and Luzon in the Philippines and finally to Manila.
Several years later, he became Treasurer of Thomas Jefferson Hospital's The Penny Wise Thrift Shop in Ardmore until the mid-90's.
And Canadian operations, he served in this capacity until April 1971 when he took early retirement. Samuel Matthews Vauclain, III died on November 20, 2007 at the age of 92.
Research notes
No notes were in the source row. Add what you know.
Technical record
| Field | Imported value |
|---|---|
| Approx Age at Death | 92 |
| Class_ASN | 172324 |
| Class_Name | VAUCLAIN, Samuel M. |
| match_method | asn_partial_name_exact |
| row_source | both |
Sources
- Camp Ritchie Museum, Inc. (The Ritchie History Museum), Classes 1–31 roster data
- Dan Gross research spreadsheets, including original Excel timeline/roster work, combined with other research and records
- NARA World War II Army enlistment records (where a NARA ASN is present)
- 1940 U.S. Census (where a census match is present)
- Ritchie Boys of WWII Facebook page, post dated 2022-12-13 (1 post)