Earl W. Samuelson

July 8, 1918 - July 24, 2021 Earl W. Samuelson was born on July 9, 1918 to a farming family of Swedish decent in Creston, Iowa. They lost their farm in the Great Depression, and moved to California as so many Midwestern families did. He entered the Army in 1944 and fought in Europe as a member of the 99th Infantry Division, then underneath the 2nd Infantry Division. The 99th Infantry Division distinguished themselves in winter combat during the Battle of the Bulge, entering the Ardennes forest in Belgium to repel Hitler's last offensive. When they entered battle in December 1944 they were outnumbered 5 to 1, but inflicted casualties upon the enemy at a rate of 18 to 1. Though the D-Day invasion is the most known battle in the Western European Theater, the Battle of the Bulge is the most costly battle ever fought by the US Army with nearly 90,000 casualties suffered. During the battle he was awarded the Bronze Star. In March 1945, the 99th drove the German's back across the Rhine, crossing under fire at the famous Ludendorff Bridge at Remagen. In April 1945, they were part of the Army group who attacked the last remnants of the Wehrmacht in the Ruhr Pocket, resulting in the collapse and defeat of German forces on the Western Front. In May 1945, they liberated the concentration camp at Mhldorf, a sub-camp of Dachau in Bavaria. This was just a single year in his 103 years, but one of the most critical in human history. After the war he would buy a house in Van Nuys, CA, start a family, and work for Lockheed's advanced research and development arm, famously called "Skunkworks" as a tool and die maker, machining and sometimes inventing tools for highly classified aerospace projects. All the while he hiked, camped and traveled the world. He walked most of the John Muir trail, drove from Southern California to Alaska multiple times, visited nearly every National Park in the United States, and still found time to travel to Canada, Bali, Vietnam, New Zealand, Australia, and most of Western Europe. He also meticulously documented his life and family history for future generations. Most people want to live a life where they can say at the end that they maxed it out. He was a signature member, and one of the few left, of the Greatest Generation. He, and these legendary Americans, are the standard bearers for everything any following generation hopes they can be. Our Armed Forces still look up to this generation for guidance and inspiration when serving our country today. In short, he did it all. And while he will be sorely missed, his was a life lived to the fullest. Earl is survived by his daughters Allyson Brown and Jane McNamara, as well as three grandchildren; Danny (Yesmeen), Stephen, and Christine as well as 7 grandchildren from his marriage to Helen Dunkle Samuelson.