Lumbee Legend - Sam Emanuel
Mr. Sam Emanuel was born January 1918 in Claxton, Ga. His parents were Mr. Atlas Emanual and Mrs. Hattie Hunt Emanuel. He joined the Army on April 08, 1944, and took basic training at Fort Bragg and Fort Jackson before deploying as a Private First Class (PFC). PFC Emanuel was a tank driver for Company 157 of the 45th Infantry.
When Mr. Emanuel left home, he was a muscular 200-pound farm boy. When he returned, he weighed less than 68-pounds after being captured and tortured as a prisoner of war (POW) in a German war camp in the winter of 1944. A far cry from what he expected when he joined the Army.
PFC Emanuel was a young husband and father of four (Eartle, Atlas, J.W., and Lillian) when he was captured at 27 years old. By the time, the US liberated the camp – the mental and physical damage had already been done. While he would physically recover, he struggled to mentally overcome the horrors of that difficult time during his life.
While he did not speak of this time often, when he did – Mr. Emanuel would vividly describe how the Germans would drive wooden stakes underneath the toenails of his frost-bitten feet, wrap him in wire, soaked with water and how he was shocked with electrical current. Despite this torture, Mr. Emanuel endured. He endured all the hurt and pain the Germans had to offer but never revealed any information about his unit as a result of his refusal to cooperate – his treatment worsened.
Mr. Emanuel returned home to his wife, Mrs. Lillian Locklear Emanuel and slowly began to rebuild the life that was once ripped from him. Once home, Mr. Emanuel began the long and difficult road to recovery. He would go on to father and addition nine children (Carvy, Eugene, Scarlette, Ipana, Glois, DeNeil, David, Billie, and Debby). Between the love and care of his family and Mr. Emanuel’s his own spirit of determination to reclaim the life that German forces were determined to break.
Very little is document about his experience as Mr. Emanuel rarely spoke of this difficult period of his life but one story he shared with his family was that toward the end of his captivity, a really good friend from the Saddletree community was killed within the same camp. He was also scheduled to be executed however a young German woman hid him at the last minute (ultimately saving his life) right before he was liberated. As a result, once he returned home and was able to honor her - he named his next daughter Scarlette, in honor of her of the sacrifice she made for him.
Mr. Emanual’s lineage is stronger today than ever before. While he had thirteen children of his own – he also has thirteen grandchildren to who will continue to carry on his legacy.
As a community – we have a responsibility to remember. To remember the physical, emotional, and mental contributions Mr. Emanuel made in an effort to keep us safe. As a result, Mr. Sam Emanuel will forever be considered a “Lumbee Legend” as we say thank you for your service.