William T. Sampson - Namesakes

Namesakes

• Four destroyers of the Navy have been named USS Sampson in his honor.
• The United States Naval Academy's Sampson Hall, which houses the English and History departments, is named in his honor.
• The United States Navy also authorized a service medal, known as the Sampson Medal, to recognize those who had served under his command during the Spanish-American War.
• The former Sampson Naval Training Base, that became the Sampson Air Force Base and is now a New York State Park on the eastern shore of Seneca Lake were named in his honor. Approved by President Roosevelt in 1942, 498 buildings were constructed on 2,500 acres (10 km2) of farmland in the Finger Lakes near Palmyra, New York by 15,500 workers in 270 days so that 411,000 sailors could be trained before the facility closed in 1946. The facility was converted to the Sampson Air Force Base for the Korean War and between 1950 and 1956 over 300,000 airmen had their basic training there. Even though the facility is now the Sampson State Park known for its herd of white deer, it will return to military duty when the Sampson Veterans Memorial Cemetery is completed.
• A Brooklyn, New York elementary school PS 160 was named in his honor.
• Both the elementary and high school at Guantanamo Bay Naval Base were named in his honor.
• Detroit Public Schools has a school that bears the name William T Sampson Elementary School located at 6075 BEGOLE STREET Detroit, MI - 48210. It is no longer used and has been shuttered.