Sawyer was created byStan Lee andJack Kirby. He first appeared inSgt. Fury and the Howling Commandos #1, May 1963. He was named after Stan Sawyer, a friend of Stan Lee in Hewlett Bay Park and a notable VoiceOver artist for commercials (Salem cigarettes, Hertz Rentacar Certs and many others) in NYC. Stan and Sheila Sawyer socialized with Stan and Joan in the early 60s, and Stan used his name for the character.[citation needed]
Happy Sam Sawyer was assigned to theBritish Commandos by the U.S. Army. He trained for parachuting in Britain in 1940 with Finley's Flying Circus, alongside daredevil parachutistNick Fury and pilot Red Hargroves. They gave him the nickname “Happy Sam” because of his serious and consistently stony demeanor.[2] In 1942, Sawyer, who had been wounded in North Africa and was deemed unfit for combat missions, organized and led theHowling Commandos, Bull McGiveney's Maulers,Jim Morita's Nisei Squad, and Sgt. Bob Jenkin's The Missouri Marauders, as well as the Deadly Dozen.[volume & issue needed] When artistJohn Severin joinedSgt Fury and his Howling Commandos with issue #44, Severin drew Sawyer as being much older and balder than his original depiction as a young man.
In modern times,Baron Strucker created anLMD of Sawyer that attacked the original Howling Commandos as well asCaptain America. Sawyer would sacrifice himself when the LMD detonated itself while trying to gain missile navigation override codes.[3]
In the wake of his death, aS.H.I.E.L.D. assaultHelicarrier was named in his honor in the mini-seriesIron Man: Hypervelocity.[4] There is also a Samuel J. Sawyer Memorial Veterans Hospital.[5]
^Sam Sawyer was named after a close friend of Stan and Joan Lee at the time named Stan Sawyer, who was a noted voice-over talent of commercials (Coca-Cola, Salem cigarettes, RCA Victor and others.
