Posted by Hal Lyon on October 7, 2002:

Sam was one of those rare, steady, calm classmates who no one or no seeming crisis could rattle. We worked together on the Pointer and though I felt competitive at times with sam who was the editor in chief, he never gave that a thought. I always held him in high respect as the oldest, most experienced classmate in Company C2 (Sam already wore his jump wings and a row or two of rippons on his uniform while we were cadets). We lost contact after graduation until sometime after he was elected to Congress, which brought us back together as I was serving in the government as director of education for gifted & talented children. He became a loyal supporter and friend. Sam went out of his way graciously to publish in the Congressional Record a strong statement of support for my work in behalf of the gifted & talented, which, though rattling some of my superiors, opened the door for more federal and private support for my initiatives. Sam was generous in his counsel to me and as steady and solid as any friend could be, inspite of my sometimes politically incorrect rebelliousness within the bureaucracy. I was shocked at his pre-mature death and felt a great loss. Sam, we miss you and grip hands with you.

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