Honoring Our Sampson Boots

USNTS Sampson

September, 2005

One of our members, Tom Solosky (son of Henry Succolosky), recently visited the Sampson WW-2 Navy Museum with his mother, Genevieve, and inspired this month's feature.

From Tom:

Last month Mom (Genevieve Succolosky) and I made our second trip to Sampson WWII Navy Museum located on beautiful Seneca Lake, near Geneva, NY. I'm not sure how beautiful it was back in the early forties to the many of you USS Euryale Vet's who did your boot there, but it's one great place to visit now.

My Dad, Henry Succolosky, did his boot camp at Sampson. Our first trip there was two years ago. I found out on the Internet that they saved one of the original buildings, the brig for any of you who may remember it or spent some time there (I'm sure it was to visit a buddy). I then joined the Sampson WWII Vet's Association on behalf of my father as a sustaining member. They publish a great newsletter which I get in the mail full of pictures, stories and letters from vets who did their boot there.

After our visit two years ago, I made arrangements with the association to get a picture of the USS Euryale on the "Wall of Honor" on behalf of the crew. So on this visit we got to see the Blue Beetle on the wall. My Dad's picture along with the ship's name is in the upper left corner of the picture. I was also able to get a brick in his memory in the courtyard.

The museum is just filled with memorabilia and pictures and stories of life and training at Sampson during WWII. There is even a working periscope that goes thru the roof that has a great view of the lake and park. There are pictures of so many ships on the "Walls of Honor" and articles donated by veterans from their Navy days. The Museum is manned by volunteers, mostly WWII Vet's and their wives. They were just great to us. While there, we had a picnic lunch overlooking Lake Seneca.

Sheri Lytle is putting some pictures I took on the Euryale web site so I hope you get to see them.   (Editor's Note: See below!)  The first thing you will see as you enter the park is the statue of the "Sampson Sailor". There is a plaque under the statue that is worth stopping to read. There is a gift shop with some great items including "Sampson Sailor" shirts and hats and Sampson logo patches with the year served. The building is a "C" shape and the other half is now an Air Force museum from the Korean War era. After the Navy abandoned Sampson, the Air Force took it over in the late forties.

Sampson is really very easy to get to, maybe 10 miles from the NY Thruway, between Syracuse and Rochester. It certainly is worth the trip. There were 411,429 members of the "Greatest Generation" who passed thru Sampson between 1942 and 1946. I hope you get to visit there (again for some of you). While you're there, look for my Dad's brick in the courtyard. It'll say "US NAVY - HL SUCCOLOSKY - OLD FORGE, PA", and say hello to an old shipmate.

Regards. Tom Solosky

Thanks to Tom for sharing the visit and pictures and thanks to Harry Hartman for emailing them to me. And Tom, thanks for your time and generosity in getting the Euryale on the museum wall. Your kind gesture honors our crew greatly.

Click on any thumbnail preview to view full-size picture.

Note: Some of the pictures may look distorted in these previews in order to conform to the table dimensions, but the full-sized pictures look great!



The Sampson USNTS is being preserved and maintained by the Sampson WW-2 Navy Veteran's organization. They are recognized by the Secretary of Defense, 7 May 1990, incorporated in the State of New York as a Non-profit Veterans Organization

Below is information on how to contact the Sampson WW-2 Navy Veteran's organization. Become a member, sign up for the newseltter, request a brochure or directions to the facilities, donate to the non-profit organization or just take a stroll down memory lane.

Museum Information
Located at Sampson State Park, Romulus NY. The museum is open May 30 to Labor Day, 5 days a week, Wednesday through Sunday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. From Labor Day weekends only until October 12. There is no charge to enter the museum.

Telephone Numbers:
Museum Phone 315-585-6203
State Park 315-585-6392
Off Season 800-357-1814


Write to them at:
Sampson WW-2 Navy Vets
P.O. Box 63
Seneca Falls, NY 13148

Newsletter and Membership
To receive the newsletter or to join write to:
Sampson WW-2 Navy Veterans, Inc.
C/O Stephen Bull
2 Hamlin Drive
Canandaigua, NY 14424

Websites
Sadly, the official website of the organization has been disabled, but I did find a very comprehensive site. It turns out that the website has always been on our off-sites link page under "Amphibious Forces" but am not sure how many of you who trained at Sampson have actually seen this link.

All material contained herein © 2004 and beyond USS Euryale Association

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