If ever there was a dog after a man's heart, Samson was that dog. Light-hearted and carefree, everybody loved him and he loved everybody. I have loved all the dogs I have owned, and of the dogs I have not owned, he is the one I loved the most and remember the best.

Sam's mother was an Air Force Weather Detachment pet on Eniwetok Island in the Marshall Islands. She was named 'Caustic' after the caustic soda the Rawinsonde group used to generate Hydrogen for inflating the balloons. Which male dog was his father was a point of considerable conjecture among the weather personnel, but Caustic apparently had a private life that none of us knew about. As soon as it was evident that Caustic was pregnant the weather detachment became the most popular group of people on the island because at that time she was the only female dog (the only female period) on the island. Dozens of requests for a puppy were made.

Caustic was delivered of 4 puppies in mid-May of 1952....2 sons and 2 daughters. It was agreed that two would be given away: Maximum, the largest and a male, and Minimum, the smallest and a female. Min and Max we called them after the daily low and high temperatures. The other two pups would belong to the weather detachment (an embarassment of riches) and were named Samson and Delilah. After the first two puppies were given away, ( I don't remember to whom ) Sam and Delilah were taken everywhere by the Rawin Group to prevent their theft ( dogs, you must realize, were very important! ). Delilah, unfortunately, met an early demise one evening, when she fell asleep between the right rear tandem wheels of a 6x6. I don't know who drove the truck but there was remorse all around, enough for everybody to share.

Samson grew to become slightly smaller than a mid-sized dog, white with large tan spots, floppy ears, a long tail, intelligent eyes, inquisitive nature and friendly personality. As he grew he roamed the island; weathermen living area to weather station, rawin shack, motor pool, service club, mess hall, and he used the island bus for transportation. The bus, called the 'Cattle Car' was a fortyfoot long flatbed with a roof and sides welded on, without glass for windows, and frequently used in the daytime for island personnel to get to and from work. The weather people, whoever was working that dayshift would take Sam along. Up to that time he was the only dog that rode the bus and I'm sure it became part of his 'territory'. Soon he began to ride the bus on his own. He would wait along side of the road. The driver would stop and pick him up wherever he was and then drop him off when Sam walked to the exit and waited for the bus to stop. I can see him now in my mind, head stuck out the window opening with floppy ears sailing backward in the wind, tongue hanging out in the breeze, and I swear, a smile on his face. This was HIS domain and he was proud of it.

While he was still young, not quite fully grown, Harry Blackford placed Sam upon a typewriter table at work and announced, "OK Sam, let us see how much braves you got". Sam whimpered a bit and then jumped down, his front legs sliding out in front of him and he whacked his chin on the concrete floor. At least he had courage! I relate this to point to the main part of the story.

Sam did have an unusual quirk when he matured. He had a habit of chasing his long tail, going in circles until he got dizzy or caught it- biting until it hurt, yelp and let go. He eventually wore or bit all the hair off his tail. Nervousness, anxiety, crazyness? We didn't know but it was funny when he became dizzy!

As Sam wandered the island, he undoubtedly infringed on the territory of other dogs, one of which was named S--- Head, the biggest and reputedly the meanest and toughest dog on the island. One evening at the open-air theater, S--- Head caught Sam under my seat on the bench and a fight ensued. I and another person, ( Al Camerlingo I think ) separated the two animals and the owner of the other dog, a fellow in the Army, came and claimed S--- Head. Sam was still quite young and I don't think he ever went to the movies again.

From that time on, wherever Sam went, his apparent sworn enemy would find him and beat him up. Sam would surrender and run away. The fights got to be an almost weekly occurance, even in Sam's own territory; the weathermen living area. Sam tried very hard to avoid his enemy but not always with success. We began to believe that he was a coward. Then one day S--- Head got on the bus and challenged Sam. Sam really was brave and this bus was HIS ALONE!!! He went after the other dog, whipped him in about a minute and chased him off the bus amid applause and complements from the riders. A great Victory for Sam!

From that time on, the other dog avoided Sam. Sam was king of the island! But I don't think he cared about that, only that he, on his own terms could ride his beloved bus with his head in the wind. A somewhat surprising afternote is that he stopped chasing his tail and the fur grew back! I think his world was complete.

I often think back 40-some years and when Samson comes to mind I wonder what ever happened to him. Is there anyone who can tell me?

Paul Sulky

Email:plsulky@coastaccess.com

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