- His awards included the Distinguished Service Cross, 3 Distinguished Service Medals, 2 Silver Stars, 2 Legion of Merit, 2 Bronze Stars, 3 Army Commendation Medals, Vietnam Gallantry Cross with Palm, Combat Infantry Badge, and many more.
- He served as chief reconnaissance officer for the 5307th Composite Unit (Provisional) (Merrill's Marauders).
- After surviving the campaign in Burma, with Merrill's Marauders he came home suffering from: malaria, mite typhus, amoebic dysentery, and severe malnutrition.
- In the army he would have been known as a "mustang". A mustang is someone who moves up through the enlisted ranks and gets commissioned an officer. After entering the army as a private, he retired as a Lieutenant General.
- Served in three wars before retiring in 1977 after 37 years of service.
- Enlisted as a private in the U.S. Army in 1940.
- Samuel Vaughn Wilson is also credited with helping to create Delta Force, the U.S. Army's premier counter-terrorism unit.
- Ex-Director of Defense Intelligence Agency, he is credited with coining the term counterinsurgency. He was later president of Virginia's Hampden-Sydney College.
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