| Memorial Corner O'Fallon, Illinois |
| December 2005 |
| 1st Lieutenant Samuel George Harding United States Air Force + + + 1931—1958 |
| Samuel George Harding was born December 7, 1931 in East St. Louis, the son of Paul K. and Marguerite Harding. He graduated from Lansdowne Junior High School in East St. Louis in 1947 and from O’ Fallon Township High School in 1950. He then attended McKendree College in Lebanon, Washington University and University of Illinois where he graduated in 1954. He entered the U.S. Air Force that same year. The following year on December 19, he married Lucia Hadley in Collinsville. He completed a tour of duty in England at the end of 1957 and was assigned to Schilling Air Force Base as a 1st Lieutenant. He was a navigator with the Strategic Air Command detachment. The couple made their home in nearby Salina, Kansas. On February 27, 1958, a B-47 medium jet bomber he was flying in was headed home but was diverted to Biggs Air Force Base in Texas because Schilling was iced in. The plane ran out of fuel and crashed. The crew was only slightly injured except for Lt. Harding who was killed. He was survived by his wife, parents and two sisters, Suzanne and Mary Frances. Funeral services were held at the O’Fallon Methodist Church with burial at Mt. Hope Cemetery in Belleville. He was 26 years old. He gave his life that we might live free! Memorial Corner Flag Raising sponsored by the O'Fallon Woman's Club, Saturday December 10, 2005 biography courtesy of O’Fallon Historical Society |
