1940-1984. Citadel Class of 1961. First Lt. U.S.A. He played a prominent role in President John F. Kennedy's funeral. He was the officer in charge of the Joint Services Casket Team. They were in charge of the security of the casket and for placing and removing it from the catafalque in the grand rotunda of the Capitol. (Source: Alumni News, Fall 1963, p. 18)
In Vietnam he lost an arm, a leg and an eye. He was also partially blinded in the remaining eye. Fragments also penetrated deep within his brain, leaving a deep depression on his left side. He was the last Citadel alumnus/graduate who died as the result of combat in Vietnam. His death occurred in 1984. His portrait hangs in the Daniel Library. (Sources: B.T. Collins, "The Courage of Sam Bird."Reader's Digest, May, 1989, pp. 49-54; So Proudly He Served: The Sam Bird Story, by Annette Bird and Tim Prouty. U53 .B57 B57 1993; Bo Petersen, "Citadel Graduate Remembers Honor of Serving During Kennedy's Funeral," Post and Courier, November 22, 2003, pp. 1B, 5B; Remember Now Thy Creator in the Days of Thy Youth, by Michael D. Blackwell, pp. 256-269. U430 .B63 2003) (HN & DH)
