Sampson One Skunk stood 6 ft. 2 in. and weighed only 150 lbs. when he joined the Rangers. His shape & skills were ideal because stealth and concealment are parts of a Ranger’s stock-in-trade.

Came a day when the Rangers went into some heavily-wooded country on maneuvers. It was an exercise in traveling through underbrush without making any noise. A British officer thought OneSkunk wasn’t paying much attention.

“Well, you see, Sir,” the American officer replied, “this is just child’s play to him. He’s probably known how to sneak up on a chipmunk ever since he was six years old.”

So they put Pvt. OneSkunk on his own and told him to show them something. He did.

He disappeared into the woods. He was supposed to try to creep back to his unit without being heard. About 10 min. passed. They heard nothing. Then they heard him make a deliberate sound above them. He was sitting in a tree, right over their heads.

He went away several more times and returned, soundless as a shadow. Once he crept up beside one of his mates and whisked away the soldier’s rifle. They neither saw nor heard him.

And so, in no time, Pvt. OneSkunk became a full-fledged Ranger.

Story is excerpted from The Evening Times of Sayre, PA on 15 Feb 1943, "Private Sampson Oneskunk of U.S. Army Wins Praise of British Commando Men."

One Skunk is also mentioned by name in LIFE Magazine, 31 Jul 1944, p. 59.

Sampson Oneskunk (1914)