Youth. Samuel Douglas “Sam” Haas was born in Alexandria, Rapides Parish, Louisiana on 5 Aug 1923. He was the first child of two born to Lulu Suzanne (Haupt) Haas and Samuel David Haas. Young Sam had one younger brother, Joe. The father, Samuel was from a prominent Alexandria family, a college graduate, and a WWI Vet. In 1920 when he and Lulu were married Samuel was working as a Cotton Broker. By 1930 he was a Bank President, and by 1940 the Postmaster for Alexandria. The family owned their own home in Alexandria and according to the Census records employed two live-in servants.

Sam graduated from Bolton High School in Alexandria and went on to study engineering at the University of Oklahoma. On 25 May 1942 Sam enlisted in an Army Reserve program that allowed him to get training on a part-time basis while continuing his college studies.

Military. On 21 May 1943 Sam Haas was called to Active Duty with the Army. He went to Fort Sill, OK for Artillery School and was selected for Officer Candidate School and received his 2nd Lieutenant’s commission 22 Jul 1944. He continued to train in MS and OK and in late 1944 shipped to Europe and joined the 489th Armored Field Artillery, attached to the 7th Armored Division, as the Battle of the Bulge raged. 2nd Lt Samuel Haas was serving in the important, but dangerous position of Forward Artillery Observer. The 7th AD recaptured St Vith Belgium in late Jan 1945 and got a brief rest period before the moved back into Germany. By Mar 1945 they are on the Rhine and by late Mar 1945 across the Rhine pushing to expand the Remagen “beachhead” and break through to the farmland to the east, ideal for armored warfare. On 27 Mar 1945 2nd Lt Haas and a driver were in a jeep near Oberbiel, Hess, north of Frankfurt, moving to an Artillery observer post when the jeep hit a mine and flipped over. 2nd Lt Haas was seriously injured.

Death and Burial. 2nd Lt Haas was transported to the 128th Evac Hospital a few miles west of Oberbiel where he died of those injuries the next day, 28 Mar 1945. 2nd Lt Haas was buried in an Army Cemetery in Germany and after the war moved to the beautiful Netherlands American Cemetery, Plot A, Row 6, Grave 14, where he lies alongside 8,290 other American Heroes. Sam Haas is also memorialized on a monument at Bolton High School, Alexandria. His younger brother, Joe Haas, named his first-born son, Samuel Douglas Haas II, born in 1948. 2nd Lt Samuel D Haas was awarded the Purple Heart Medal posthumously.

According to the records available 2nd Lt Haas would be entitled to display the following awards and commendations:

★ World War II Victory Medal, ★ Purple Heart Medal,

★ American Campaign Medal, ★ Army Good Conduct Medal,

★ European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign

(This list has not been verified as complete.)

Stories Behind the Stars Contributing Author – TOM GORHAM

SBTS Project/Louisiana/Rapides Parish

Resources:

This story was written by Tom Gorham, Lt Col USAF-Ret, son, son-in-law, and nephew of Greatest Generation Vets.

This story is part of the Stories Behind the Stars project (see www.storiesbehindthestars.org). This is a national effort of volunteers to write the stories of all 400,000+ of the US WWII fallen. Can you help write these stories? Related to this, there is now a smart phone app (Find a Grave) that allows people to visit any war memorial or cemetery, scan the Fallen's name and read his/her story. If you have suggestions to improve this story, please contact me through Fold3 at the link (Tomg66) below.

Haas, Samuel Douglas, 2nd Lt, US Army, Serial #O-551790