Samuel Jerome Foreman (1920 - 1945)

Born 1 Jul 1920 in Cushing, Payne, Oklahoma, United States

Died 21 Jan 1945 at age 24 in Yugoslavia

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Biography

Samuel Foreman is Notable.

Samuel Foreman is a Military Veteran.
Served in the United States Army Air Force 100th Fighter Squadron 1943-1944
Tuskegee Airman flying Ace

Samuel Foreman was awarded the Purple Heart.

Lt. Samuel Foreman was Missing in Action during World War II.

Samuel Foreman was born in 1920 in Cushing, Oklahoma to Alva Williams and her first husband, Unknown Foreman. Nothing is known about Samuel's father, presumed to have died or divorced prior to Alva's 1922 marriage to Sherman Reese.^[2] An older sister, Mattie, was also a child of the first marriage. Samuel and Mattie had four younger Reese half-siblings living with them and their mother, who was again a widow, by 1930. But she owned their home on North Madison Street in Tulsa.^[3] Samuel's mother remarried once again, to H.M. Mathews, and they continued to live at the house in Tulsa. Samuel attended Langston University in Langston, Oklahoma. In 1941 his name was twice in the local newspaper; first as having been assigned a number on the draft list,^[4] and again after he enlisted^[5] by enrolling in and completing the Tuskegee Army Air Field Training as a cadet by November of 1943.^[6] By January of 1944, Flight Officer Foreman had completed the primary phase of his basic flight training.^[7] In May of that same year, Flight Officer Foreman was awarded his wings and commission from the Tuskegee Aviation Cadet Corps.^[8] And by December, he was on his way to Italy with a P-51 Mustang fighter group.^[9]

On 21 January 1945, F.O. Samuel Foreman, stationed at Ramitelli Air Base in Italy, was part of a bomber escort on a mission to attack oil storage facilities near Vienna, Austria. He began to experience engine trouble over Yugoslavia, and attempted to return to the air base with his number three man to escort him. But his commanding officer ordered him to return to formation. He was last seen in a 360 degree turn, attempting to rejoin. The weather conditions made it impossible to see what happened. He is believed to have crashed near northern Yugoslavia.^[10][11] His personnel file at the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency tells a somewhat different version.^[1]

Although he continues to be listed as Missing in Action (status Deferred), and his name is inscribed on the Tablets of the Missing at the Florence American Cemetery and Memorial in Italy, he was declared dead on 22 January 1946, a year and a day after his plane disappeared.^[12][1][13]

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2} Personnel profile, 2dLT Samuel J. Foreman, Service Member Profile, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency

   Status: Unaccounted For.

2. ↑ "Oklahoma, County Marriages, 1890-1995." Database with images. FamilySearch. "Oklahoma, County Marriages, 1890-1995," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q29M-MGV2 : 23 March 2020), Sherman Reece and Alva Foreman, 11 Nov 1922; citing Oklahoma, various county courthouses, Oklahoma; FHL microfilm.
3. ↑ "United States Census, 1930," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XC4G-4BQ : accessed 25 June 2020), Samuel Forman in household of Alva Reese, Tulsa, Tulsa, Oklahoma, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) ED 47, sheet 5A, line 23, family 107, NARA microfilm publication T626 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2002), roll 1934; FHL microfilm 2,341,668.
4. ↑ "Names and Numbers of Next Draftees," Tulsa Daily World, 13 Jul 1941, p. 16.
5. ↑ "United States World War II Army Enlistment Records, 1938-1946," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KMX9-3TG : 5 December 2014), Samuel J Foreman, enlisted 13 Oct 1942, Tulsa, Oklahoma, United States; citing "Electronic Army Serial Number Merged File, ca. 1938-1946," database, The National Archives: Access to Archival Databases (AAD) (http://aad.archives.gov : National Archives and Records Administration, 2002); NARA NAID 1263923, National Archives at College Park, Maryland.
6. ↑ Tulsa Daily World, 21 Nov 1943, Section 1, part 1, p. 2;

   "Latest Oklahoma men to complete pre-flight training at Tuskogee army air field, Alabama, are Aviation Cadets Edwin M. Barrett, son of Mr. and Mrs. E.M. Barrett of Muskogee and Samuel J. Foreman, son of Mr. and Mrs. H.M. Mathews of 1746 North Madison. Barrett attended Lincoln university and is a member of the Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity. Foreman attended Langston University."

7. ↑ Tulsa Daily World, 25 Jan 1944, p. 2;

   "An announcement from Tuskegee Ala., army air field names several men from Oklahoma who, having completed the primary phase of their flight training, have been assigned to basic flight, flying heavier and faster planes. The men include Samuel J. Foreman of Tulsa and Edwin M. Barrett, Moskogee. Foreman, son of Mr. and Mrs. H.H. Mathews of 1740 North Madison, Tulsa, formerly attended Langston University."

8. ↑ Tulsa Daily World, 31 May 1944, p. 2.
9. ↑ Tulsa World, 6 Dec. 1944, p. 8;

   "Flight Officer Samuel J. Foreman, 1746 South Madison, has been assigned to a P-51 Mustang fighter group with the 15th AAF in Italy. The group is actively engaged in long-range escort for heavy bombers and also participates in strafing missions against enemy ground targets. He is the son of Mrs. Alva M. Mathews, 1746 North Madison."

10. ↑ "Samuel Jerome Foreman," CAF Rise Above, website, https://cafriseabove.org/samuel-jerome-foreman/
11. ↑ Erica Smith, "Lt. Samuel J. Foreman Disappears Over Yugoslavia," St. Louis Post Dispatch, stltoday.com, 25 Sep 2009, https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/lt-samuel-j-foreman-disappears-over-yugoslavia/article_9eb8bc60-5e47-11df-bf10-00127992bc8b.html
12. ↑ "Samuel J. Foreman," American Battle Monuments Commission, abmc.gov website, https://www.abmc.gov/decedent-search/foreman%3Dsamuel
13. ↑ Samuel J. Foreman, War Death Certificate