Sam Allen was a well-known south Philadelphia athlete when America went to war. He went into the Marines in 1918. After basic training he went to France where he got sick with the flu. He did not tell anyone how sick he felt. He marched into battle with a very high fever; he couldn't see well because of the fever. He tripped and fell facedown into the muddy battlefield. Just before he passed out he made a promise to GOD, "GOD! If you help me get well and I get back home I will become a minister of your word." Sam kept his promise. After getting home to Philadelphia, it took him 10 years of long work and study before he was ordained as a Presbyterian minister.