Norman Frederick Lamphere

Marine Corps Reserve | Service Number 553928

Born

November 4, 1926
in Buffalo, NY

Parents

Dennis Henry Lamphere
Bessie Mary (Reynolds) Lamphere

School

LaSalle Institute & Orphanage

Pre-War Employment

Details unknown

Entered Service

December 4, 1943
at Albany, NY

Joined First Battalion

September 20, 1944
from 3rd Provisional Marine Detachment

Left First Battalion

March 9, 1945
Killed in action at Iwo Jima

Left Service

March 9, 1945
Killed in action

Home Address and Next of Kin

36 Columbia Street, Rensselaer, NY – home of mother, Mrs. Bessie Lamphere

Service & Campaigns

Before joining battalion

Enlisted Albany, NY on 4 December 1943. Boot camp at Parris Island with Eighth Recruit Battalion; to 49th Replacement Battalion for transit to Pacific theater. Assigned to Third Provisional Marine Detachment at Camp Maui, Hawaii, for duty as an electrician (MOS 078).

Joined Able Company, First Battalion, 24th Marines on 20 September 1944.

Iwo Jima

Outfit: A/1/24th Marines
Rank: Private
MOS: 765 (Visual Signalman)
Important Events:
March 2, 1945 – slightly wounded in action, cause and circumstances unknown; not evacuated
March 9, 1945 – killed in action (gunshot wound, head), exact circumstances unknown

Buried in Fourth Marine Division Cemetery Plot 1, Row 35, Grave 1712, on March 15.

Campaign Narrative

Individual Decorations

Medal
Purple Heart
– with Gold Star

Campaign
Iwo Jima (March 2, 1945)
Iwo Jima (March 9, 1945)

Citation
For wounds received in action
For wounds received in action, resulting in death

We got the order to move back to the beach for a well-earned rest. We moved out in a long line back to the beach. We just passed the foot of the cliffs when I saw a buddy of mine who was in A Company heading back toward where we had come from. We had stopped to rest, and I had quite a talk with him. He asked me about a pair of field glasses I had managed to obtain the wrong way back in our home base and asked me if I hadn’t brought them with me. We had quite a chat and had to split up when his outfit moved back to the lines. I had first met him in Oahu and we had become fast friends, he originated from Albany, New York.... We had remained good friends on Maui even though we had a terrific fight over nothing that really mattered. We fought till we got tired, and then quit and shook hands, and were friends just the same as usual. I must say here that it took me a couple of weeks to get rid of my two black eyes and the other bruises that I received in the fight.

That was the last time I saw him. He was killed very shortly afterward by a Jap sniper who got him between the eyes. I am glad to say that he didn’t suffer in the least because he was dead before he hit the ground.

Arthur T. LaPorte C/1/24th Marines

Norman is buried in Woodlawn National Cemetery, Elmira, New York.

Gallery

Norman Lamphere's service record photograph, December 1943.

Private Lamphere, c. 1944.

Telegram sent to Norman's mother announcing his death in action.

The Knickerbocker News (Albany, NY) 14 May 1945.

Photographs courtesy of Scott Lamphere

1 thought on “Norman F. Lamphere”

Scott Lamphere March 30, 2025 at 12:06 am

Reply

Norman was my Uncle. He had a short, difficult life. His father left the family during the depresssion and he was raised in an orphanage in Albany NY. Family lore says he lied about his age to get into the military. I have a better photo frin his military file as well as a photo of the telegram sent to my Grandmother notifying her of Norman’s death. Please let me know if the site is still active, I would like to add to Norman’s page.