“We’ve got to make our parents proud.” So reads the inscription Sam Beamon wrote in his brother Reggie’s copy of Sam’s book, Flying Death: The Vietnam Experience. And proud their parents would surely be of Sam’s extraordinary life of service.
Describing the values in the brothers’ Waterbury home growing up, Reggie explains, “Beamons don’t push people aside. We lift people up. We help people. That’s what we do.” Service runs in the Beamons’ veins. Their father and grandfather both served the community, and Reggie himself represented Waterbury in the Connecticut House of Representatives for twenty years, and currently serves as executive director of the Waterbury Opportunities Industrialization Center, among many other community roles.
But Sam Beamon’s decades-long commitment to his community stands out even among a family of public servants. After graduating from Kaynor Tech High School, where he was a Young Marine, Sam enlisted in the Marine Corps and flew in more than 360 combat missions in Vietnam, earning numerous citations. After the war, Sam joined the Waterbury Police Department, where he broke down racial barriers and led the department to expand opportunities for others. Among many other accomplishments during his 27 years with the police, Sam was the first Black officer to serve the force on a SWAT team, was the Waterbury Police Department’s first Black sergeant and first Black lieutenant and served as a detective. During his tenure, he also mentored Waterbury youth through the Police Activities League (PAL). After retiring, Sam became the State Commandant of the Marine Corps League and also served on and ultimately chaired the Waterbury Veterans Memorial Committee. In recognition of his service, Sam was inducted into the State of Connecticut Veteran’s Hall of Fame.
After Sam’s death in 2018, his brother Reggie, nephew Andrew, and friends Debi Ortiz and Vernon Riddick were determined that Sam’s life would serve as an example to future generations. Others readily agreed: Waterbury’s Board of Aldermen voted to establish Sam’s birthday as an annual Day of Service in the city, and the Connecticut Legislature voted to rename and dedicate a bridge on West Main Street in Waterbury as the Samuel K. Beamon Memorial Bridge. The bridge now features a mural that captures the many ways in which Sam served his community.
The group also wanted to create something permanent that would support the ambitions of young people long into the future, and that would reflect Sam’s passions. To that end, they established the Samuel K. Beamon Scholarship Fund at Connecticut Community Foundation. The fund provides scholarships every year to students pursuing careers in law enforcement, a trade, or photography. As Reggie explains, Sam’s friends and family hope the scholarship will inspire students “to appreciate those who came before and understand the sacrifices people make,” and will motivate them to “become a giver.” Per Reggie, Sam’s example to students—and to us all—is that “you need to give your all to do something. You can’t half-step. Sam never half-stepped.”
Those inspired by Sam may make gifts to the Samuel K. Beamon Scholarship Fund at https://donatenow.networkforgood.org/sam-beamon
