Samuel Ward Casscells III was born in Wilmington, Delaware and graduated from Tower Hill School in 1970. He then graduated cum laude from Yale College with a B.S. degree in 1974 and magna cum laude from Harvard Medical School with his M.D. degree in 1979. Casscells was board certified in internal medicine after completing his residency at Beth Israel Hospital from 1979 to 1983. He was then board certified in cardiology after completing a fellowship at Massachusetts General Hospital from 1982 to 1985.[4]
Casscells was the son of S. Ward Casscells (November 15, 1915 – February 8, 1996)[5] and Sarah Oleda (Dyson) Casscells (January 5, 1921 – August 18, 2002).[6] His father was an orthopedic surgeon who had helped invent arthroscopic surgery[1] and had served in the Army Medical Corps as a trauma surgeon with the Eighth Evacuation Hospital during World War II,[7] retiring from service as a captain.[5] His parents were married in a civil ceremony in Chesterfield County, South Carolina on December 22, 1948[8] while his mother was completing her law degree at the University of Virginia[7] and again in an Episcopal ceremony in Fairfax, Virginia on June 11, 1949 after her graduation.[9]
Willerson, James T. (2013). "S. Ward Casscells, MD". Transactions of the American Clinical and Climatological Association. Vol.124. pp.lxxxviii–xc. PMC3715911.
“Delaware Native Comes To Military Career Late But Ascends To Top”, By Nicole Gaudiano. Gannett News Service. March 28, 2007.
“Swiftly Confirm: Wartime Pentagon Needs A Top Health Official, and Houston's Ward Casscells Is Right Man for the Job” (Editorial). Houston Chronicle. March 27, 2007.
“Delaware Native On Call For Veterans Health Crisis” By Nicole Gaudiano. Gannett News Service
“Bush To Nominate Houston Doctor To Defense Health Affairs Post” By Todd Ackerman. The Houston Chronicle. February 24, 2007.
