Captain, US. Army Air Corps, John Gadsden Samson

On March 25, 1942, John G. Samson (B: 1922, Rhode Island) enlisted as a Private in the Air Corps in New York City. He served in the US Army Air Forces from December 17, 1942 to April 18, 1946. Jack flew 52 combat missions as an Army Air Corps navigator aboard a B-24 Liberator with the 14th Air Force in China.

He graduated from the University of New Mexico on the GI bill and was a graduate of the university’s first journalism class. He covered the Korean War as a correspondent for United Press and later joined the Associated Press in Albuquerque as a staff writer. In 1960, he was awarded a Nieman Fellowship for journalism at Harvard.

In 1970, Jack joined the staff of Field & Stream as managing editor until named editor-in-chief in 1972, where he remained until 1985. He wrote 20 books, mostly on outdoor topics, but also three biographies of naturalist Ernest Thompson Seton, Maj. Gen. Claire Lee Chennault of the famed Flying Tigers of World War II, and fly fisherman and conservationist Lee Wulff. He also authored a book on saltwater fly fishing. He held the fly-rod world record for roosterfish and was the first known fly fisherman in the world to catch Atlantic sailfish, Pacific sailfish, and all five species of marlin on a fly. His favorite pursuit was fly fishing for permit, a tricky game fish of the Yucatan peninsula.

John, a native of Rhode Island, was the son of Henry T. and Jessie Y. Samson. Jack first came to Santa Fe at age 8 to recover from asthma. He resided in Santa Fe with his wife, Victoria. He had three sons and 4 grandchildren.