Pfc. Samuel T. Williams (August 15, 1922 – February 3, 1945)
291st Infantry Regiment, 75th Infantry Division
by Samantha Dettman and Marie Oury
Early Life
Samuel T. Williams, a native of Lake County, Florida, was born on August 15, 1922, in Mount Dora, FL.1 His parents, Marcus Sr. and Ollie, married in Tennessee on September 2, 1913, before relocating to Florida to start a family. They had three children before Samuel: Marcus Jr. (1914), Virginia (1915), and Harry (1917). Marcus Sr. worked as a pharmacist, operating a business to provide for his family.2 During the 1920s, pharmacy education expanded throughout the US. As the modern medical industry grew, people attended college and received degrees that taught them about the retail side of pharmaceuticals, such as basic chemistry, filling prescriptions, and business operations.3 Tragedy struck the family on January 5, 1926, when Marcus Sr. passed away unexpectedly. While his death did not leave the family destitute, Ollie and her children moved back with her parents, Sam and Dora Harris, in Eustis, FL.4
The following years were rough for many families in Florida. Two disastrous hurricanes hit the state in 1926 and 1928; the Mediterranean fruit fly infested and destroyed many citrus crops in 1929; the real estate boom began to decline towards the end of the decade; and the stock market crashed in 1929, affecting the nation in the 1930s.5 Before President Roosevelt’s New Deal in 1933, families had limited to no state or federal assistance. Relief finally came through Roosevelt’s “alphabet agencies.” The Agricultural Adjustment Administration (AAA) and Farm Credit Administration (FCA) provided crucial support to farmers by offering benefits for reducing the production of key crops and subsidizing farms with new loans. These measures helped stabilize commodity prices and increased farm revenues. Additionally, the Social Security Act introduced Aid to Dependent Children (ADC), which provided financial assistance to mothers based on need, ensuring they could care for their children if the father was absent or unable to support them.6 These programs marked a turning point, offering struggling families like the Williams the first real safety net, beyond what families could provide, in American history.
Samuel and his siblings all attended school through high school. Samuel participated in clubs and sports throughout high school, as listed here in his senior yearbook, next to his picture.7 He followed in his brother Marcus’s footsteps in attending the University of Florida in 1942.8 While there, he joined the Cooperative Living Organization, providing students with affordable housing and living expenses. Residents ran and maintained their homes together by taking on different duties. To this day, the organization continues to offer about eighty UF students the same affordable housing.9 On October 24, 1942, he enlisted in the Army and joined the Reserves.10
During his time in school, the president of UF urged students to complete their studies as quickly as possible, emphasizing physical fitness, leadership, and fulfilling reserve requirements. If a student was drafted, the university encouraged him to stay enrolled for as long as possible to earn the maximum college credit.11 By joining the reserves, Samuel likely prolonged his time in school before entering the service.
Military Service
Shortly after Samuel Williams enlisted on December 24, 1942, the US Army established the 291st Infantry Regiment as part of the 75th Infantry Division (ID). Between 1942 and 1944, the Army activated twenty-six Organized Reserve units, including the 75th ID, officially formed on April 15, 1943, at Fort Leonard Wood near St. Robert, MO.12 Samuel likely completed his academic year before beginning basic training, where he spent seventeen weeks developing essential military skills. During this time, he trained in team coordination, weapons handling, and physical and mental endurance, preparing for the challenges ahead.13
On November 20, 1944, Samuel and the 75th ID arrived in Britain for a short training period before landing west of Rouen, France, in mid-December. Their time behind the line was brief; they saw combat quickly. Traveling east 250 miles to Ocquier, Belgium, the 75th ID, assigned to the First US Army, rushed to reinforce troops in what became the Battle of the Bulge, also known as the Second Battle of the Ardennes. This German offensive aimed to capture Antwerp, Netherlands, cutting off British forces in the north from the American troops in the south. Hitler’s strategy relied on exploiting the rugged mountain terrain of the Ardennes forest and the brutal winter conditions, hoping to fracture the already fragile Allied alliance. The harsh landscape and deep snow made combat even more grueling. The Germans began making significant progress into Belgium on December 15, 1944, pushing the front line dangerously close to France by Christmas. In response, American and Allied forces mobilized in full force, outnumbering the Germans and having the advantage of steady reinforcements and supplies. When Samuel and the 75th ID arrived on December 23, the tide of battle began to shift. With little time to recover from their arduous journey, the 75th ID was immediately thrust into action, taking up defensive positions to support units already engaged in the fight.14
As the Allied counteroffensive gained momentum, German defenses began to crumble. Amid harsh winter conditions, with snow piling up over two feet deep, the 75th ID received orders on January 2, 1945, to launch an attack on the German “bulge.” By the following day, Samuel and the 291st Infantry Regiment held the line Manhay, twenty-five miles north of Bastogne.15 The Third US Army advanced from the south toward Bastogne, while the First US Army, including the 75th ID, reinforced the frontlines to the north. Their main objective was to capture Vielsalm, a small but strategic town 12 miles east of Manhay. After a brief period of rest, on January 9, the 75th ID prepared for combat, relieving the 82nd Airborne Division along the Salm River. 16
For several days, the situation remained at a standstill. The Germans held defensive positions along the Salm River and Vielsalm while the 75th ID prepared for an offensive along the river’s west bank. The attack on Vielsalm began in the early hours of January 15, 1945. The 291st IR advanced north, while the 289th IR pushed directly into the city. After fierce combat, the 75th ID successfully liberated Vielsalm on January 17, only to find the town and its surroundings heavily mined. Undeterred, the division pressed eastward into the Ardennes Forest. As Samuel and the 291st IR advanced through the dense forest, they faced relentless enemy gunfire. On January 22, after liberating the town of Commanster, the regiment moved south toward Aldringen. Upon capturing the city, Allied forces severed a key supply route to St. Vith, dealing a significant blow to the enemy. By January 24, 1945, the Allies successfully pushed the Germans back behind the Siegfried Line, ending the Battle of the Bulge. 17 Fellow Veteran of the 291st IR, Staff Sergeant Bill Prater, described their experience during the battle as follows: “We were always cold, tired, and scared. Usually, we were more fatigued than scared; however, since at eighteen years of age, we were not smart enough to believe anything could happen to us.”18
After the Battle of the Bulge, Samuel and the 75th ID redeployed to Alsace, where they joined the Seventh US Army to assist in reducing the Colmar Pocket. The division moved to Ribeauvillé, 35 miles south of Strasbourg, France, with all units arriving by January 29, 1945.19 The Colmar Pocket emerged in the fall of 1944 following the advance of the Sixth US Army Group, led by General Jacob Devers. Following the landings in August 1944 along the Mediterranean Sea, American and French troops moved north while Allied forces continued to push west from Normandy. As the Germans retreated, they established a large bridgehead around Colmar, maintaining a stronghold on the west bank of the Rhine River in Alsace. In December 1944, under Devers’ orders, General de Lattre de Tassigny and the First French Army launched an offensive to eliminate the pocket. Due to insufficient troops and resources, however, the attack failed.20 By the end of January 1945, as the Battle of the Bulge came to an end, General Devers launched “Operation Cheerful” to support the First French Army. He deployed the 3rd, 28th, and 75th US ID and the 5th French Armored Division to execute a coordinated assault on the Colmar Pocket. The plan aimed to attack simultaneously from the north and south while cutting off the enemy’s supply route between the eastern outskirts of Colmar and the Rhine River.21
As part of this strategy, the Allies targeted Neuf-Brisach, a fortified city seven miles east of Colmar. Louis XIV’s renowned military architect Vauban designed and built Neuf-Brisach in 1698 to protect France’s eastern border from invasion. By 1945, the Germans relied on the city’s formidable defenses to secure one of the remaining bridges in Alsace over the Rhine River. They used this critical crossing to resupply their forces in the Colmar Pocket and sustain their resistance.22
On February 1, 1945, the Allies launched their offensive to eliminate the Colmar Pocket. The 75th ID cleared the villages of Horbourg, Wihr-en-Plaine, and Andolsheim, east of Colmar. Samuel and the 291st IR advanced south through the forest toward the Andolsheim–Neuf-Brisach Road, encountering increasing enemy resistance. The next day, the 291st IR held its position and launched another assault under intense enemy machine-gun fire. Throughout the day, the French Army attacked Colmar, while the 75th ID attempted to cross the Ill River on the city’s eastern side to weaken German defenses. Then, on February 3, the 3rd ID pushed toward Neuf-Brisach, while the 75th ID shifted to its right flank and attacked Wolfgantzen, a village just a mile and a half from Neuf-Brisach. Leading the charge, the 291st IR advanced 300 yards across open ground, enduring heavy mortar and artillery fire.23 Pvt. Samuel Williams was killed in action on this day from multiple bullet wounds.24
Legacy
On February 5, the 75th ID finally captured Wolfgantzen. The 291st IR surprised the enemy, attacking the village from the north while the Germans concentrated their defenses in the south. The next day, February 6, the 3rd ID seized Neuf-Brisach, and by February 9, Allied troops eliminated the Colmar Pocket after destroying the last remaining bridge over the Rhine River in Chalampé.25 The 75th Infantry Division paid a heavy price during this intense campaign, suffering 1,258 casualties: 105 killed, 430 wounded, 132 missing, and 591 non-battle casualties. 26 Among the fallen was another Floridian from the 291st Infantry Regiment, Sergeant Hardy B. Alligood, who died on the same day as Private Samuel Williams. Today, both men rest at the Epinal American Cemetery.27
After their success in Alsace, the 75th Infantry Division advanced to the Ruhr, where they fought fiercely, capturing more than 17,000 German prisoners of war between April and May 1945. 28 Their efforts left a lasting mark across Belgium and France. In Belgium, a plaque honors the 291st Infantry Regiment’s role in the Battle of the Bulge, while another memorial commemorates the liberation of the Salm River Valley. 29 In France, a monument in Sigolsheim, pictured here, pays tribute to the American divisions that helped liberate Alsace. 30 The Colmar Pocket Memorial Fountain also stands as a tribute to the American, French, and North African troops who fought in the battle. 31
The University of Florida honored its fallen students in its 1945 yearbook, including Pfc. Samuel Williams.32 The military awarded him the Purple Heart for the injuries that ultimately took his life. While he lies at the Epinal American Cemetery in France, his family also honored him with a cenotaph in their family plot at Pine Forest Cemetery in Mount Dora.33 He was survived by his mother, siblings, and grandmother.34
After serving in the war, his brother Marcus built a family with his wife, Jean, and named his second son after Samuel. 35 Their mother, Ollie, became known as the “Lady of the Magnolias.” In 1947, she brought home a magnolia seed from Virginia and planted it, later founding the Magnolia Club in 1949. Over the next twenty-five years, she planted over a thousand magnolia trees throughout Eustis and remained active in the club until she passed away on December 11, 1972.36 Pfc. Samuel Williams’ memory lives on through these memorials and with the family he left behind.
1 “U.S., WWII Draft Registration Card,” database, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com: accessed August 9, 2023), entry for Samuel Williams, serial number 73.”
2 “Announcement,” The Adair County News (Columbia, Kentucky), September 17, 1913, Newspapers.com; “1920 U.S. Census,” database, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com: accessed August 9, 2023), entry for Marcus Williams, Mount Dora, Lake County, Florida; ; ”Marcus Orene Williams II,” Find a Grave, accessed February 18, 2025, https://fr.findagrave.com/memorial/18387117/marcus_orene_williams ; ”Virginia Williams Taylor,” Find a Grave, accessed February 18, 2025, https://fr.findagrave.com/memorial/18387177/virginia_taylor; ”Harry H. Williams,” Find a Grave, accessed February 18, 2025, https://fr.findagrave.com/memorial/18387171/harris_h_williams.
3 Benjamin Y. Urick and Emily V. Meggs, “Towards a Greater Professional Standing: Evolution of Pharmacy Practice and Education, 1920-2020,” Pharmacy (Basel) 7, no. 3, (2019), Accessed October 25, 2023, https://www.mdpi.com/2226-4787/7/3/98.
4 “Florida Wills and Probate Records, 1827-1950,” database, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com: accessed August 10, 2023), entry for Marcus Williams; “1930 U.S. Census,” database, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com: accessed October 25, 2023), entry for Ollie Williams, Tavares, Lake County, Florida.
5 “The Great Depression and World War II,” Historical Society of Palm Beach County, accessed July 16, 2024, https://pbchistory.org/great-depression-through-wwii/.
6 Elna C. Green, Looking for the New Deal: Florida Women’s Letters during the Great Depression (Columbia, SC: University of South Carolina Press, 2007), 2, 9-11; “Great Depression Facts,” FDR Library & Museum, accessed July 30, 2024, https://www.fdrlibrary.org/great-depression-facts.
7 “U.S., School Yearbook, 1900-2016,” database, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com: accessed July 18, 2024), entry for Eustis High School, The Panther 1941.
8 “1935 Florida State Census,” entry for Sam Williams; “1940 U.S. Census,” database, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com: accessed August 9, 2023), entry for Sam Williams, Eustis, Lake County, Florida; “U.S., WWII Draft Registration Card,” entry for Samuel Williams; “Williams-Littlepage,” The Daily Herald (Biloxi, Mississippi), October 20,1941, Newspapers.com.
9 University of Florida, Seminole (Gainesville, FL: 1942), 278, University of Florida Archives, https://ufdc.ufl.edu/AA00022765/00033/images, accessed August 1, 2024; “About,” Cooperative Living Organization, accessed August 1, 2024, https://cloliving.org/about/.
10 “U.S., World War II Army Enlistment Records,” database, Fold3.com (http://www.fold3.com: accessed August 9, 2023), entry for Samuel Williams, service number 14077340.
11 George Osborn, “The University of Florida in World War II,” Florida Scientist 36, no. 1 (Winter 1973): 38-41.
12 “Lineage and Honors Information: 291st Regiment Lineage,” U.S. Army Center of Military History (http:/history.army.mil/html/forcestruc/lineages/branches/regt/0291rgt.htm: accessed October 20, 2015); “World War I and II,” U.S. Army Reserve, accessed August 5, 2024,https://www.usar.army.mil/OurHistory/WorldWar-I-and-II/.
13 “Sending Them Off to War: Pre-Induction Information Programs,” Oregon Secretary of State, accessed August 5, 2024, https://sos.oregon.gov/archives/exhibits/ww2/Pages/services-induction.aspx.
14 “What You Need to Know about the Battle of the Bulge,” Imperial War Museum, accessed August 15, 2023, https://www.iwm.org.uk/history/what-you-need-to-know-about-the-battle-of-the-bulge; “75th Infantry Division,” U.S. Army Center of Military History, updated January 31, 2021, https://history.army.mil/html/forcestruc/cbtchron/cc/075id.htm; “75th Infantry division,” U.S. Army Center of Military History, https://www.history.army.mil/documents/eto-ob/75ID-ETO.htm (order of battle); 75th Infantry Division, The 75th Infantry Division in Combat: the Battle in the Ardennes, 23 Dec 1944-27 Jan 1945; the Colmar Pocket battle, 30 Jan 1945-9 Feb 1945; the battle for the Ruhr, 31 Mar 1945-15 Apr 1945, (1945) 3-4; Michael J. Lyons, World War II: A short History, 5th ed.(New York: Routledge, 2016), 258; Ian Kershaw, The End: Germany, 1944-45 (New York: Penguin Group, 2012), 129-130; 155-161.
15 75th Infantry Division, The 75th Infantry Division in Combat, 8.
16 75th Infantry Division, The 75th Infantry Division in Combat, 9-10.
17 “What You Need to Know about the Battle of the Bulge,” https://www.iwm.org.uk/history/what-you-need-to-know-about-the-battle-of-the-bulge; “75th Infantry Division,” https://history.army.mil/html/forcestruc/cbtchron/cc/075id.htm; “75th Infantry Division,” https://www.history.army.mil/documents/eto-ob/75ID-ETO.htm (order of battle); 75th Infantry Division, The 75th Infantry Division in Combat, 10-17.
18 Bill Prater, World War II Memoirs (unpublished memoirs). A special thanks to Chris. W. Prater, son of Bill Prater for providing and authorizing us to use his father’s memoirs.
19 75th Infantry Division, The 75th Infantry Division in Combat, 18-20; “75th Infantry Division,” https://history.army.mil/documents/ETO-OB/75ID-ETO.htm (order of battle).
20 Jeffrey J. Clarke and Robert Ross Smith, Riviera to the Rhine (Washington D.C.: The Center of Military History United States Army, 1993), 533; Eugene Riedweg, La libération de l’Alsace, Septembre 1944 – Mars 1945 (Paris: Tallentier, 2022), 191-200.
21 Clarke and Smith, Riviera to the Rhine, 535.
22 “Neuf-Brisach, Ideal City of Vauban,” Visit Alsace in Brisach, accessed November 1, 2023, https://www.visitalsacerhinbrisach.com/en/discover/must-see/neuf-brisach-ideal-city-of-vauban/.
23 75th Infantry Division, The 75th Infantry Division in Combat, 20-23.
[24] “U.S., WWII Hospital Admission Card Files,” database, Fold3.com (www.fold3.com: accessed August 9, 2023), entry for Samuel Williams, service number 14077340; “Samuel T. Williams,” American Battle Monuments Commission, accessed August 9, 2023, https://www.abmc.gov/decedent-search/williams%3Dsamuel-1.
[25] 75th Infantry Division, The 75th Infantry Division in Combat, 24-25.
[26] 75th Infantry Division, The 75th Infantry Division in Combat, 19.
27 “Decedent Search Results,” American Battle Monuments Commission, accessed July 30, 2024, https://weremember.abmc.gov/#!/s?a=c&sort=title:ASC
28 75th Infantry Division, The 75th Infantry Division in Combat, 25-26.
29 “75th Infantry Division Plaque,” American War Memorials Overseas Inc., accessed August 23, 2023, https://www.uswarmemorials.org/html/monument_details.php?SiteID=1230&MemID=1616; “75th Infantry Division Plaque,” American War Memorials Overseas Inc., accessed August 23, 2023, https://www.uswarmemorials.org/html/monument_details.php?SiteID=1232&MemID=1618.
30 “Battle of Alsace Memorial,” American War Memorials Overseas Inc., accessed August 23, 2023, https://www.uswarmemorials.org/html/monument_details.php?SiteID=404&MemID=659.
31 “Colmar Pocket Memorial Fountain,” American War Memorials Overseas Inc., accessed August 23, 2023, https://www.uswarmemorials.org/html/monument_details.php?SiteID=477&MemID=740.
32 University of Florida, Seminole (Gainesville, FL: 1945), 144, University of Florida Archives, https://ufdc.ufl.edu/AA00022765/00036/images, accessed September 4, 2023.
33 “Samuel T. Williams,” American Battle Monuments Commission; “Samuel Williams,” Find a Grave, accessed August 9, 2023, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/17793423/samuel-thomas-williams.
34 “Samuel Williams,” Find a Grave, accessed August 9, 2023, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/56376369/samuel-thomas-williams; “1950 U.S. Census,” database, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com: accessed August 9, 2023), entry for Olive Williams, Lake County, Florida.
35 “Williams, Marcus O. ‘Buster,’” The Orlando Sentinel (Orlando, Florida), June 9, 2003, Newspapers.com; “1950 U.S. Census,” database, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com: accessed November 13, 2023), entry for Marcus Williams, Mount Dora, Lake County, Florida.
36 “Eustis Woman Known As ‘Lady of Magnolias,’ The Orlando Sentinel (Orlando, Florida), May 21, 1972, Newspapers.com; “Olive Ora Harris Williams,” Find a Grave, accessed July 30, 2024, https://fr.findagrave.com/memorial/18516150/olive_ora_williams; Newsletter of American Magnolia Society, Vol1, no1, 8; Newsletter of Magnolia Society International, Vol2, No1, 8 accessed July 30, 2024 https://www.magnoliasociety.org/page-1813189