Samuel S. Stratton

Samuel Studdiford Stratton (born September 27, 1916 in Yonkers , New York , † September 13, 1990 in Rockville , Maryland ) was an American politician . Between 1959 and 1989 he represented New York State in the US House of Representatives .

Career

Samuel Stratton was born in Westchester County during World War I. The family moved to Schenectady about three months after he was born . He attended public schools in Schenectady and Rochester as well as the Blair Academy in Blairstown ( New Jersey ). He graduated from the University of Rochester in 1937, from Haverford College in 1938 and from Harvard University in 1940 . He was then chief secretary to Congressman Thomas H. Eliot of Massachusetts between 1940 and 1942 .

On June 26, 1942 he joined the United States Naval Reserve as Ensign . He served as a Naval Combat Intelligence Officer in the Southwest Pacific Area on General Douglas MacArthur's staff . In 1946 he retired as a lieutenant from active service. He was awarded the Bronze Star with Combat V twice. At the end of the war, he interrogated the Japanese commander in chief, General Tomoyuki Yamashita in the Philippines , who was later hanged as a war criminal for the Manila massacre .

Between 1946 and 1948 he served as Deputy Secretary-General in the Far Eastern Commission in Washington, DC He was elected City Councilman in Schenectady in 1949 and re-elected in 1953 - a position he held until 1956. During this time he was called back to active naval service in 1951 with the rank of Lieutenant Commander . He served as an instructor at the Naval Intelligence School in Washington DC until 1953. Then he held the rank of captain in the United States Naval Reserve. Between 1950 and 1955 he sat in the Schenectady Municipal Housing Authority and held the chair there in 1951. He was Mayor of Schenectady between 1956 and 1959. He also sat on the Board of Trustees at the University of Rochester. Between 1957 and 1958 he was a professional representative with First Albany Corporation . Politically, he belonged to the Democratic Party .

In the 1958 congressional elections for the 86th Congress , Stratton was elected to the US House of Representatives in Washington, DC in the 32nd  constituency of New York , where he succeeded Bernard W. Kearney on January 4, 1959 . He was re-elected once. In 1962 he ran in the 35th District of New York for the 88th Congress . After a successful election, he succeeded R. Walter Riehlman on January 4, 1963 . He was re-elected three times in a row. In the 1970 congressional elections, he was elected to the 92nd Congress in the 29th constituency of New York . He succeeded Daniel E. Button on January 4, 1971 . In 1972 he ran for the 93rd Congress in the 28th district of New York . After a successful election, he succeeded Hamilton Fish IV on January 4, 1973 . He was re-elected four times in a row. In the 1982 congressional election he was elected to the 97th Congress in the 23rd constituency of New York , where he succeeded Peter A. Peyser on January 4, 1983 . He was re-elected twice in a row. Since he refused to run for re-election in 1988 , he resigned from Congress on January 3, 1989 .

He was based in Potomac but died on September 13, 1990 in Rockville. His body was interred in Arlington National Cemetery.

Web links

• Samuel S. Stratton in the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress (English)

• Samuel S. Stratton in the database of Find a Grave (English)