Robert Lapham
Robert Lapham (January 1, 1917, in
Davenport, Iowa – December 18, 2003, in
Sun City,
Arizona) was a reserve lieutenant in the
US Army in
World War II. He served in the
Philippines attached to the 45th Infantry (
Philippine Scouts), evaded capture in the spring of 1942, and organized and led one of the largest and most successful
guerrilla armies on the central plains of the northern island of
Luzon. He was promoted to major by war's end, age 28, and was awarded the
Distinguished Service Cross by General
Douglas MacArthur. Lapham was the third person, after President
Franklin Delano Roosevelt and MacArthur, to receive the
Philippine Legion of Honor. Historian Norling says that Laphams's Luzon Guerrilla Army Force (LGAF) was probably the most efficient of the many guerrilla armies on Luzon. The U.S. Guerrilla Affairs Division commended Lapham for having the best-disciplined guerrilla organization.
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