DOB/DOD: January 31, 1892 (Norwalk, CT) – November 19, 1967 (Norwalk, CT); 75 years old
MARITAL STATUS: Married to Ida Litoff on April 7, 1929, in New Haven, Connecticut
CHILDREN: One son, Benjamin (1930-2017). Two daughters, Celia (1931-2015) and Dorothy (1938-).
LOCAL ADDRESS: 135 Stuart Avenue, Norwalk
ENLISTMENT: December 17, 1917
UNIT: Signal Section, Headquarters Company, 102nd Infantry Regiment, 26th Infantry Division (Yankee Division)
OTHER: He was a master dance instructor prior to joining the service.
CIRCUMSTANCES: Severely wounded on November 3, 1918, 8 days before the end of the war. Awarded the Purple Heart Medal.
Photo contributed by a grandson, Barry Polley.
After the service, he served as Commander of the Yankee Division’s Norwalk Post for several terms, Commander of Post 141 of the Jewish War Veterans organization, and President of the Commuters Garage Company. Owner of Hank’s Broadway Novelty Store at 5 Railroad Avenue, then 104 Washington Street.
From The Norwalk Hour November 16, 1932
SAMUEL POLLEY GETS PURPLE HEART MEDAL
Samuel C. Polley, Senior Vice Commander of the Yankee Division Club, has been presented with the Purple Heart Medal by the War Department. The medal was presented for military merit and wounds received in the Argonne Woods battle on November 1, 1918. Mr. Polley saw nearly 18 months of overseas service during the war.
From The Norwalk Hour November 21, 1967
SAMUEL C. POLLEY, VETERAN, MERCHANT
Samuel C. Polley, 75, of 135 Stuart Avenue, who served with a headquarters unit of the 102nd Infantry Regiment, 26th Yankee Division, and was gassed and wounded in World War I, died suddenly at his home Sunday morning from a coronary attack. He was the husband of Mrs. Ida Litoff Polley. Besides his wife, Mr. Polley is survived by a son, Benjamin Polley of this city; two daughters, Miss Dorothy Polley and Miss Celia Polley, both of New York City; two grandchildren; a sister, Mrs. Max Schachter of this city and a brother, Manuel Polley of Miami, Florida. Services were held at 1:30 p.m. Monday from the Ganung Funeral Home, 84 South Main Street, with Rabbi Israel Yavne of Beth Israel Synagogue officiating. The interment took place in the Independent Hebrew Cemetery. Frank C. Godfrey Post, American Legion, Jewish War Veterans Post, and the Yankee Division Veterans Association were represented by delegations at the service. Pallbearers were Leonard Abramson, Herman Zeitlin, Samuel Finkelstein, Irwin Yedon, Sheldon Miller, State Rep. Bernard Breeman, and Attorney George J. Lepofsky. Mr. Polley was born in Norwalk, the son of the late Barney and Anna Polley. He was the proprietor of Hank’s Smoke Shop at 5 Railroad Avenue, recently moving to 104 Washington Street because of re-development. He had operated a service station for about 25 years at the corner of Franklin and Monroe Streets. Earlier, he had operated a dancing studio in the city. He was a member of the Jewish War Veterans, Yankee Division, and the American Legion and was a member of the Independent Hebrew Society. He had been a member of the old Roton Point Volunteer Life Guards Association. Mr. Polley enlisted with the New Haven “Blues,” the famed 102nd, in 1917 and was assigned to the Signal Section of Headquarters Company. Mr. Polley was in the Battle of Seicheprey. Mr. Polley was in the attack on Marchéville in which a number of Norwalk soldiers were reported missing or dead. He, too, was thought missing in action. A letter, dated September 28, 1918, from France established that he had been removed to the hospital at Limoges. Mr. Polley was active for many years in the Yankee Division Association with his comrades of the 102nd.
Buried in Independent Hebrew Cemetery, 135 Richards Avenue, Norwalk, Connecticut; Section A, Row 4, Plot 33. Photo by webmaster.
END
Honor Norwalk CT veterans 
Thank you for your devotion to this very important work, in the service of all who seldom or never know enough to appreciate their identity. Suddenly discovering our past, our roots, is astounding.
It adds unexpected and cherished, meaning to our lives.
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Dorothy, it’s an honor to be able to bring the stories of these heroes to the public. Comments like yours make it all worth it. Thank you for the kind words.
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Hi Jeff How can I leave/post a comment of appreciation from my family and myself? Geraldine and Nat are so very pleased and honored. Your work has given new life and meaning for my father and and his grandchildren.
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Dorothy, you already have left two very kind comments about the work. Those comments are available to the public. When you go to your father’s web page: https://norwalkctheroes.org/2021/08/19/private-samuel-charles-polley-u-s-army/ , and scroll all the way to the bottom, you’ll see all of our comments as will everyone else. It’s as public as any other method to honor the work. I appreciate it all.
The post was originally made public in August 2021. Since that time, your father’s page has received 106 views with 23 of those 106 coming in January 2023 alone.
Warm regards,
Jeff DeWitt
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Suddenly knowing more about the life of my father is a forever appreciated gift, for myself and my children, and future generations.
Thank you for your important work and your priceless generosity.
dorothy polley
0610152089
dorothysgallery@gmail.com
http://www.dorothysgallery.com
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Hi Jeff my name is Geraldine Wharry I am one of Sam Polley’s grandchildren (a total of 5). We are eternally grateful for this page honouring our grandfather. It has given us more insight into his greatness and achievements. We do not know ourselves well enough until we can discover more about our family history. Our grandfather was very quiet about his achievements and the difficulties he experienced during the war. We did not know exactly which battles he fought. I have since researched the Argonne Forest battle and there are no words to describe both the horror he experienced, and the bravery he showed. Without it, I wouldn’t be writing this message today, living a thriving life in London UK. In community leadership, Sam was able to support the men who experienced the war with him. Although I never had a chance to meet my maternal grandfather, it brings me joy to know he continued to be a hero, in honour of his comrades and of the ones left behind. We are so proud of him.
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Thank you for the kind words Geraldine. I appreciate it. It’s comments like yours that make all the work worth it.
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Hi Jeff, I have a question about my grandfather Sam Polley. It says in the profile that ‘Wounded severely on November 3, 1918. Awarded the Purple Heart Medal.’. It also states ‘A letter, dated September 28, 1918, from France, established that he had been removed to the hospital at Limouges.’.
This means that he went back to combat after his September 1918 hospitalisation.
Also, he was in the Argonne Forest Battle. This was a huge battle at the very end of the war between and November 11th 1918.
Do you know if the Argonne Forest is where was severely wounded on November 3rd?
Trying to understand what happened in his life on the war front between September 1918 and November 3rd, only 8 days before the Armistice.
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Great questions! I sent an e-mail to you this morning with some information that will help answer your questions.
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Thanks Jeff just replied!
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Hi Jeff, I have a question about my grandfather Sam Polley. It says in the profile that ‘Wounded severely on November 3, 1918. Awarded the Purple Heart Medal.’. It also states ‘A letter, dated September 28, 1918, from France, established that he had been removed to the hospital at Limouges.’.
This means that he went back to combat after his September 1918 hospitalisation.
Also, he was in the Argonne Forest Battle. This was a huge battle at the very end of the war between and November 11th 1918.
Do you know if the Argonne Forest is where was severely wounded on November 3rd?
Trying to understand what happened in his life on the war front between September 1918 and November 3rd, only 8 days before the Armistice.
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Great questions! I sent an e-mail to you this morning with some information that will help answer your questions.
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Hi Jeff, I had one more question. I could not find a Limouges in France nor a Marchevielle online.
I did however find a few Marcheville and we have a city called Limoges in France.
I’m wondering if there was a typo in the records or perhaps these towns no longer exist. If you have any info on this let me know. Thank you again and kind regards.
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Marchevielle is a typo — it is Marchéville. Limoges is also the right spelling. Both have been corrected. Big picture, the original spelling was exactly as it was spelled in the obituary which I sent to you yesterday. With over 400 stories on my website, there were some I wrote that I didn’t fact-check the source and I should have. I’m working on a book right now which will be out in the summer. When that project is completed, I will go back through the 400+ posts on the site and check everything again. I appreciate your input immensely. Thank you. — Jeff
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Totally get it! I would have done the same and it is colossal the work you have done! We are so grateful. Any questions on French related spelling things do not hesitate to reach out happy to help.
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