Rich, Samuel F.

Description

Samuel F. Rich was born in New York on October 11th, 1922. In Rye his family lived on 84 Overlook Place. Samuel’s family consisted of his father Michael, his mother Lena, his 2 sisters Laura, and Marie, and his 2 brothers Joseph, and Michael. Samuel’s father had an 8th grade education, and worked as a contractor. Samuel’s mother had a 7th grade education and was a homemaker.

Samuel was a proud member of the Rye High School class of 1940. In high school Samuel was known as being self reliant, and participated in finger print club, and drivers club. In Samuel’s free time he would be seen on the football field playing for the junior varsity football team.

After high school Samuel enlisted into the US Army, and was an exceptional solider. In the army, Samuel was part of the US Army Corps of Engineers; he served for 2 1/2 years in the Southwest Pacific with the 1881st Eng Aviation Battalion.

The 1944 campaign against Leyte unfortunately coincided with the rainy season and the months most prone to typhoons, October and November. Leyte was mountainous and heavily vegetated, except for two principal lowlands marked by streams and numerous rice paddies. Engineers had little time to plan and there were an insufficient number of bridging units and equipment available to conduct bridging operations to support construction. Despite these difficulties, the assault was launched on October 19 with the goal of capturing Tacloban airdrome and four fields in central Leyte as quickly as possible.

At Tacloban, the 1881st Engineer Aviation Battalion and two other units bivouacked on the peninsula alongside the runway to be near their work. For five days they pumped coral from the ocean floor to establish a sub-base solid enough to support steel mats for a 7,000-foot runway, in spite of hundreds of aerial attacks. One night they withstood 71 separate passes by enemy aircraft. Air support virtually was non-existent because of the major naval battle raging off Leyte.

Many U.S. aircraft attempted crash landings; most planes cracked up on the loose coral and sand of the runway. The engineers bulldozed 25 wrecked airplanes into the ocean. Recruiting Filipino laborers was difficult owing to their reluctance to work under air attacks. Working around the clock with lighting generated on site, the engineers managed to ready the runway for fighters on the sixth day of the battle. Thirty-five inches of rain fell during the first 40 days of fighting on Leyte. The island’s roads disintegrated rapidly under military traffic, severely impeding supply routes. Construction of airfields was restricted to Tacloban and Dulag.

Samuel received numerous awards
include the following:
US Presidential Unit Citation; Philippine Presidential Citation (2 Stars); Meritorious Unit Commendation; Cited for Bravery – New Guinea (2 Arrow Heads) -Leyte (1 Arrowhead) -Luzon (1 ArrowHead)

After the war, Samuel was associated with father and both brothers in Rich Brothers Construction, Rich’s Beach Comber Restaurant, and he was a 22 year employee of the Town of Rye at the Rye Town Park. Samuel was a member of Veterans of Foreign Wars and the American Legion. He was also a communicant of Church of Resurrection.

Samuel Francis Rich, a lifelong resident of Rye died December 27, 2007.

Predeceased by Mother, Father, Sisters Marie and Laura, as well as Brothers Michael and Joseph. Samuel was survived by the following: Carol Hansen (Niece) of Downingtown, Pa; Emily (Great-niece), James, and Jackson Cooper (Great-great-nephew) of Rye, NY; Cheryl (Great-niece) and Klaus Roessler of Sarasota, Florida; Ross Hansen (Great-nephew) of Philadelphia, PA. V

Austin Harvey
RHS 2021