Former Marine Corps Lt. Col. Samuel B. Folsom, a fighter pilot in World War II and the Korean War, will be honored as the Military Hero of the Game Tuesday evening on his 98th birthday as the Los Angeles Dodgers face the San Francisco Giants at Dodger Stadium.
Folsom joined the Navy in 1940. After the attack on Pearl Harbor, he transferred to the Marine Corp to become a fighter pilot.
Folsom was assigned to the top-ranked-VMF-121 fighter squadron at Guadalcanal, contributing to the sinking of a battleship and shooting down a Japanese bomber.
Following World War II, Folsom was stationed at the Naval Air Test Center and flew as a test pilot. During the Korean War, Folsom flew missions over Pusan, Wonsan and the Chosin Reservoir.
Folsom was the fleet air readiness officer in the Office of Naval Operations in Washington and assistant naval attache to Norway.
Folsom’s decorations included the Distinguished Flying Cross, Bronze Star and Purple Heart.
Folsom left the Marine Corps in 1958, went to work for Pan American World Airlines as assistant to the chief pilot, later becoming assistant to its president and director of special projects.
Folsom left Pan Am in the early 1970s, becoming director of real estate for the East Coast for the Hertz Corp.