Robert Lapham

Robert Lapham (January 1, 1917; Davenport, Iowa – December 18, 2003; 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),: 4  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.: 241  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.: 140