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Samuel Gross

(1891 - 1934)

Samuel Gross (originally Samuel Marguiles) was born on May 9, 1891, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He served as a Private in the United States Marine Corps, 23d Company during the United States occupation of Haiti during which he participated in fighting against the Caco bandit insurgency. During the battle for Fort Riviere, he saved the life of Smedley Butler, one of only 19 people to receive two Congressional Medals of Honor. For his gallantry, Gross was also awarded a Medal of Honor.

He died September 9, 1934, and is buried in Har Nebo Cemetery in Philadelphia.

His Medal of Honor citation reads:

In company with members of the 5th, 13th, 23d Companies and the marine and sailor detachment from the USS Connecticut, Gross participated in the attack on Fort Riviere, Haiti, November 17, 1915. Following a concentrated drive, several different detachments of marines gradually closed in on the old French bastion fort in an effort to cut off all avenues of retreat for the Caco bandits. Approaching a breach in the wall which was the only entrance to the fort, Gross was the second man to pass through the breach in the face of constant fire from the Cacos and, thereafter, for a 10-minute period, engaged the enemy in desperate hand-to-hand combat until the bastion was captured and Caco resistance neutralized.

Samuel Gross,” Wikipedia.