Sager, William H., 1919-2019
Biography
William H. Sager (1919–2019) served in the United States Marine Corps during World War II, rising from the rank of Private First Class to Major. Born in July 1919 in Hagerstown, Maryland, Sager enlisted in the Marine Corps on May 11, 1939, in Charlottesville, Virginia. He completed the Eastern Platoon Leaders Course at Quantico, Virginia, during the summers of 1939 and 1940 and was later commissioned as a Marine Corps officer during World War II. He also attended the Second Marine Corps Reserve Officers’ Basic School at the Philadelphia Navy Yard, Pennsylvania.
Sager was assigned to K Company, 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division from 1942 to 1943. In this capacity, he participated in the landing and defense of Guadalcanal and the British Solomon Islands between August 7 and December 15, 1942, serving as a platoon leader. In 1943, he spent several months in Australia recovering from several bouts of malaria. From 1943 to 1944, he served with the Infantry Training Battalion, School Regiment at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina.
In October 1944, Sager volunteered for duty with the U.S. Naval Group China, also known as the Sino-American Cooperative Organization (SACO). Assigned to mainland China, he served until January 1946 and was the commanding officer of U.S. Naval Unit Ten. During this assignment, Major Sager served at the “Happy Valley” secret training camp. At the camp, military personnel helped train Chinese officers and agents in counterespionage, police and security operations, guerrilla warfare, surveillance and interrogation, weapons handling, bomb disposal, and related security work.
Major Sager’s military decorations include the Combat Action Ribbon with one bronze star, the Presidential Unit Citation with bronze star, the Marine Corps Reserve Ribbon with star (denoting over twenty years of reserve service), the China Service Medal, the American Defense Medal, the American Theater of Operations Medal, the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with three stars, the World War II Victory Medal, and the National Defense Medal. He also received several awards from the Republic of China in recognition of his service there.
Following his military career, William H. Sager became an attorney and worked for both the U.S. Treasury Department and the U.S. Department of Justice.