More than 3,000 US Paratroopers jumped into Normandy on #DDay. Among them: Father Francis Sampson, chaplain for the @101stAASLTDIV's 501st PIR.
Francis, an Iowa native and Notre Dame grad, landed in the Douve River and had to cut off all his gear to avoid drowning.
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Hours later, Francis along with 27 US Soldiers (from various units) were captured by German forces in Saint-Come-du-Mont.
Francis refused efforts by his captors (some of whom were Catholic) to move him to safety.
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Francis remained at an exposed medic station at Saint-Come-du-Mont and helped treat both German and American Soldiers in the face of an artillery bombardment.
He also gave his own blood in a transfusion to a wounded American Soldier.
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He was later awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, the Army's second highest award for valor, for risking himself to save the lives of his fellow Soldiers on D Day.
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Francis was later again captured by German troops during the Battle of the Bulge and held prisoner during the brutal winter of 1944-45 for more than four months.
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Francis became a General Officer the Army's Chief of Chaplains from 1967 to 1971. In this position, he invested his time in troops returning from the Vietnam War.
His inspirational story speaks to the power of the spirit and the love of Chaplains for their Soldiers.
*Correction: more than 13,000 Paratroopers jumped into Normandy on D Day. [this was a typo]
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