The Rotary Club of Enfield is honoring Enfield’s veterans by sponsoring military tribute banners that will be displayed in Higgins Park, the Town Green, Freshwater Walkway, North Main Street and Hazardville between Memorial Day and Veterans Day in 2026 and 2027. The Enfield Public Library partnered with Enfield Rotary to preserve digital versions of these banners as well as biographical information about each veteran.
samuel J. Lauria
United States marine corps 1942-1945
world war ii
corporal
purple heart
iwo jima
Born on January 16, 1923 in the Thompsonville section of Enfield, Samuel Joseph Lauria was a lifelong resident of the community, the third child in his Italian family. He was a graduate of Enfield High School, Class of 1941, where he lettered in football, basketball, and track while serving as president of the Future Farmers of America Club his senior year. He loved making trips to UConn with the club and their advisor, Mr. Ricci, to participate in various agricultural contests. Not surprisingly, he was voted “ Most Bashful and Quietest Boy” in his class.
When World War II broke out, like many men from Thompsonville, Sam enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps and was sent to Camp Lejeune in Jacksonville, North Carolina, to complete his basic training. He was shipped out to the Pacific Theater where he served with the Marine Corps 4th Division, 26th Battalion, as a Browning automatic rifleman. In 1945, Sam fought in the Battle of Iwo Jima where he was wounded by shrapnel in his legs during the action and he received the Purple Heart Medal for his injuries which stayed with him for the rest of his life. He was a proud Marine for his entire life. He convalesced at a Marine Corps hospital on Maui and he recalled passing the wreckage of the USS Arizona in Pearl Harbor, an image that he said justified his enlistment and haunted him.
Returning to Thompsonville, Sam worked for Bigelow-Sanford while playing football for the Greys Athletic Club and he met his future wife as a result. Breaking his leg in a game, his sister Carm needed help getting him home and asked a neighbor, Anna Sacheli, to help. It must have been quite a sight with the two 5’2” women acting as crutches for the 6’3” linebacker.
In 1950, Sam and Anna were married in St. Patrick’s Church’s basement (the church itself had suffered a damaging fire and was being rebuilt) and went on to enjoy 51 years of marriage. They had two children, Charlene Ann and Samuel Francis, two grandchildren, and two great grandchildren. Sam went on to work for the U.S. Post Office where he was the only parcel post mailman for all of Enfield for years and Hamilton Standard where he was a blueprint operator for the US Space Program. Sam retired from both jobs in 1984 and proceeded to enjoy “farming” his Enfield address while also fulfilling travel dreams with Anna. Sam died on January 12, 2002.
