Thomas George Lanphier Jr. (November 27, 1915 – November 26, 1987) was a

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

and

fighter pilot A fighter pilot is a military aviator trained to engage in air-to-air combat, air-to-ground combat and sometimes electronic warfare while in the cockpit of a fighter aircraft. Fighter pilots undergo specialized training in aerial warfare and ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

who was first given sole credit, then later partial credit, for shooting down the plane carrying

Admiral Yamamoto was a Marshal Admiral of the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) and the commander-in-chief of the Combined Fleet during World War II until he was killed. Yamamoto held several important posts in the IJN, and undertook many of its changes and reor ...

, the commander in chief of the

Imperial Japanese Navy The Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN; Kyūjitai: Shinjitai: ' 'Navy of the Greater Japanese Empire', or ''Nippon Kaigun'', 'Japanese Navy') was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945, when it was dissolved following Japan's surrender ...

. Most modern historians discount his version entirely, giving

Rex T. Barber Colonel Rex T. Barber (May 6, 1917 – July 26, 2001) was a World War II fighter pilot from the United States. He is best known as a member of the top secret mission to intercept the aircraft carrying Japanese Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto in Apri ...

credit for the kill.

Early life

He was born on November 27, 1915, in

Panama City, Panama Panama City ( es, Ciudad de Panamá, links=no; ), also known as Panama (or Panamá in Spanish), is the capital and largest city of Panama. It has an urban population of 880,691, with over 1.5 million in its metropolitan area. The city is locat ...

to Thomas George Lanphier Sr. He married Phyllis of

Boise, Idaho Boise (, , ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Idaho and is the county seat of Ada County. On the Boise River in southwestern Idaho, it is east of the Oregon border and north of the Nevada border. The downtown are ...

and had the following children: Patricia Lanphier Mix; Judith Lanphier Strada; Janet Lanphier; Kathleen Lanphier; and Phyllis Lanphier. He studied journalism at

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...

and graduated in January 1941.

Military career

Lanphier completed his pilot training at Stockton Army Air Field, California on October 30, 1941, and was assigned to the 70th Pursuit Squadron, 35th Pursuit Group at Hamilton Field in

Novato, California Novato (Spanish for "Novatus") is a city in Marin County, California, in the North Bay region of the Bay Area. At the 2020 census, Novato had a population of 53,225. History What is now Novato was originally the site of several Coast Miwok ...

. Until December 1942 he served in

Fiji Fiji ( , ,; fj, Viti, ; Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी, ''Fijī''), officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists ...

then his squadron was moved to

Guadalcanal Guadalcanal (; indigenous name: ''Isatabu'') is the principal island in Guadalcanal Province of Solomon Islands, located in the south-western Pacific, northeast of Australia. It is the largest island in the Solomon Islands by area, and the seco ...

and he joined the 347th Fighter Group. He scored his first aerial victory on

Christmas Eve Christmas Eve is the evening or entire day before Christmas Day, the festival commemorating the birth of Jesus. Christmas Day is observed around the world, and Christmas Eve is widely observed as a full or partial holiday in anticipation ...

in 1942 when he shot down an

A6M Zero The Mitsubishi A6M "Zero" is a long-range carrier-based aircraft, carrier-based fighter aircraft formerly manufactured by Mitsubishi Aircraft Company, a part of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, and was operated by the Imperial Japanese Navy from 19 ...

. Lanphier was promoted to captain in March 1943. The next month he destroyed three A6M Zeros over

Cape Esperance Cape Esperance () is the northernmost point on Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands. History The Battle of Cape Esperance, one of several naval engagements fought in the waters north of the island during the World War II Guadalcanal campaign, took its ...

on April 7, 1943. By the end of his tour, he flew 97 combat missions out of Guadalcanal in

P-39 The Bell P-39 Airacobra is a fighter produced by Bell Aircraft for the United States Army Air Forces during World War II. It was one of the principal American fighters in service when the United States entered combat. The P-39 was used by the ...

s and

P-38 The Lockheed P-38 Lightning is an American single-seat, twin piston-engined fighter aircraft that was used during World War II. Developed for the United States Army Air Corps by the Lockheed Corporation, the P-38 incorporated a distinctive twi ...

s. Following World War II, he was one of the founding members of the

Idaho Air National Guard The Idaho Air National Guard (ID ANG) is the aerial militia of the State of Idaho, United States of America. It is, along with the Idaho Army National Guard, an element of the Idaho National Guard. As state militia units, the units in the Idaho A ...

, eventually retiring as a Colonel.

Yamamoto Mission

Allied codebreakers determined the route and time schedule of the

Mitsubishi G4M The Mitsubishi G4M was a twin-engine, land-based medium bomber formerly manufactured by the Mitsubishi Aircraft Company, a part of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, and operated by the Imperial Japanese Navy from 1940 to 1945. Its official designati ...

bomber carrying

Isoroku Yamamoto was a Marshal Admiral of the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) and the commander-in-chief of the Combined Fleet during World War II until he was killed. Yamamoto held several important posts in the IJN, and undertook many of its changes and reor ...

by breaking the

Purple code In the history of cryptography, the "System 97 Typewriter for European Characters" (九七式欧文印字機) or "Type B Cipher Machine", codenamed Purple by the United States, was an encryption machine used by the Japanese Foreign Office fr ...

and Lanphier was selected for the mission to shoot it down. The mission was a success with both of the "Betty" bombers being destroyed. Officially, the after-action report gave Captain Lanphier and his wingman First Lieutenant

each half-credit for the kill. While the USAF did not reverse its 1991 decision giving half credit to each pilot, a retired lawyer / historian and state of Oregon politicians credit Barber with the sole kill. Lanphier's claim does not stand up to the accounts given by every other battle participant including American Lightning pilots Besby Holmes, Doug Canning and Rex Barber, and Japanese Zero pilot

Kenji Yanagiya Warrant Officer was a member of the Imperial Japanese Navy's Zero fighter aces who fought Solomon Islands campaign, the Battle of Solomon Islands in October 1942 – June 1943. He is best known as the only escort fighter pilot of Operation Veng ...

. Promoted to lieutenant colonel in February 1945, Lanphier served as director of operations of the

72nd Fighter Wing The 72d Fighter Wing was a wing of the United States Army Air Forces. It was assigned to Second Air Force, stationed at Colorado Springs Army Air Base, Colorado. It was inactivated on 9 April 1946. History The wing was initially activated as a co ...

of the

Second Air Force The Second Air Force (2 AF; ''2d Air Force'' in 1942) is a USAF numbered air force responsible for conducting basic military and technical training for Air Force enlisted members and non-flying officers. In World War II the CONUS unit defended ...

until late 1945. Leaving active duty following the war, he was promoted to colonel in the Air Force Reserves in 1950.

Later life

After the war he worked as an editor of the Idaho Daily Statesman and the Boise Capital News while continuing to serve as an officer and fighter pilot in the

. He served as president of the

Air Force Association The Air & Space Forces Association (AFA) is an independent, 501(c)(3) non-profit, professional military association for the United States Air Force and United States Space Force. Headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, its declared mission is " ...

from September 1947 to September 1948.Straubel, James H., "Crusade For Airpower: The Story of the Air Force Association", Aerospace Education Foundation, Washington, D.C., 1982, , , pp. 72–73; Appendix A, p. 400. In December 1949, to promote the AFA's "airability program", an aviation awareness campaign, Lanphier made a round-the-world flight using scheduled airlines, making the 22,140 mile trip in under five days. He carried with him a letter from President

Harry Truman Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. A leader of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 34th vice president from January to April 1945 under Franklin ...

commemorating the 46th anniversary of the first flight of the Wright brothers. Upon returning to New York, the letter, postmarked in 12 countries, was delivered to AFA President

Robert S. Johnson Robert Samuel Johnson (February 21, 1920 – December 27, 1998) was a fighter pilot with the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) during World War II. He is credited with scoring 27 victories during the conflict flying a Republic P-47 Thunder ...

, for presentation to the Kill Devil Hills Memorial Association at its annual 17 December anniversary of the Wright's first flight at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. He was then appointed special assistant to the

Secretary of the Air Force A secretary, administrative professional, administrative assistant, executive assistant, administrative officer, administrative support specialist, clerk, military assistant, management assistant, office secretary, or personal assistant is a w ...

, and then special assistant to the chairman of the

National Security Resources Board The National Security Resources Board was a United States government agency created by the National Security Act of 1947 whose purpose was to advise the President, in times of war, on how to mobilize natural resources, manpower, and the scientific e ...

. From 1951 to 1960, he was

vice president A vice president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is on t ...

of the

Convair Convair, previously Consolidated Vultee, was an American aircraft manufacturing company that later expanded into rockets and spacecraft. The company was formed in 1943 by the merger of Consolidated Aircraft and Vultee Aircraft. In 1953, it ...

division of

General Dynamics General Dynamics Corporation (GD) is an American publicly traded, aerospace and defense corporation headquartered in Reston, Virginia. As of 2020, it was the fifth-largest defense contractor in the world by arms sales, and 5th largest in the Uni ...

San Diego, California San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United States ...

. He served as the Washington liaison and was a strong proponent of the Intercontinental Ballistic Missile and Global Surveillance System in the 1950s. He then served as President of Fairbanks Morse from 1960 until August 1962. In 1965 he was a senior projects manager at North American Space Division in Downey, California.

Death

Lanphier died November 26, 1987, in

, of cancer. He was buried in

Arlington National Cemetery Arlington National Cemetery is one of two national cemeteries run by the United States Army. Nearly 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington, Virginia. There are about 30 funerals conducted on weekdays and 7 held on Sa ...

In popular culture

Lanphier was played by actor

William Schallert William Joseph Schallert (July 6, 1922 – May 8, 2016) was an American character actor who appeared in dozens of television shows and films over a career spanning more than 60 years. He is known for his roles on ''Richard Diamond, Private ...

in the 1960 film, ''

The Gallant Hours ''The Gallant Hours'' is an American docudrama from 1960 about William F. Halsey, Jr. and his efforts in fighting against Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto and the Imperial Japanese Navy in the Guadalcanal campaign of World War II. This film was direc ...

''.

Legacy and decorations

During

, Colonel Lanphier was credited with downing five Japanese planes, damaging eight on the ground, and sinking a destroyer. His decorations include:

Navy Cross citation

Citation: The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the Navy Cross to Captain (Air Corps) Thomas George Lanphier, Jr., United States Army Air Forces, for extraordinary heroism while serving as Pilot of a P-38 fighter airplane in the 339th Fighter Squadron, 37th Fighter Group, Thirteenth Air Force, U.S. Army Air Forces, attached to a Marine Fighter Command in action against enemy Japanese forces in the Solomon Islands on 18 April 1943. Leading a division of fighter planes at dangerously low altitude in the longest planned interception mission ever attempted, Captain Lanphier contacted the assigned objective, consisting of two enemy bombers and six escort fighters, with complete tactical surprise and launched a fierce, determined attack. In the ensuing engagement he operated with such daring courage and excellent marksmanship that he sent the leading bomber crashing in flames, and subsequently shot down one of the hostile fighters when it furiously attacked his plane. The outstanding professional skill and inspiring leadership displayed by Captain Lanphier under extremely adverse conditions contributed greatly to the remarkable success of this vital mission and were in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Armed Services.Valor awards for Thomas George Lanphier Jr.
/ref>

References

External links

ArlingtonCemetery.net, an unofficial website * Th
Thomas G. Lanphier papers
at th
American Heritage Center
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lanphier, Thomas George Jr. 1915 births 1987 deaths Burials at Arlington National Cemetery Recipients of the Navy Cross (United States) People from Panama City Recipients of the Silver Star Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United States) United States Army Air Forces pilots of World War II Deaths from cancer in California United States Army Air Forces officers United States Army colonels National Guard (United States) colonels Idaho National Guard personnel American World War II flying aces Recipients of the Air Medal Stanford University alumni Panamanian people of American descent Panamanian people of Canadian descent