Private Ralph Lamar Gilmore was born on September 5, 1925 in Brandenburg, Alabama to the union of David Cleveland Gilmore and Sarah Lydia Kilpatrick. Later, his father supported his family working as a "skidder foreman" at a Pensacola sawmill and later as a machinist. Luckily, the family owned their own home in 1940 at 2015 North 8th Avenue valued at $1,500. Ralph dropped out of Pensacola High School Class in the 9th grade and went to work for the Johnson McDonald Oil Company. After the war began, he enlisted in the Army in December 1943 and was assigned to Company "I" of the 103rd Infantry Regiment attached to the 43rd Infantry Division. The regiment was sent overseas as the Army built up their forces for the invasion of the Philippines. There, Ralph and his regiment landed on Luzon on January 9, 1945 and was one of the leading elements during the battle. They pushed inland through the jungle against the fanatically determined Japanese. They launched a surprise attack against the Japanese Shimbu Line and finally broke through. They drove into the highlands region of the island and on March 21, 1945, the regiment was locked in bloody combat near the Ipo Dam. Machine gun fire, snipers, and mortar rounds were ripping into their column when Private Ralph Lamar Gilmore was hit and killed. Buried in an American War Cemetery, his parents requested his body be shipped home in 1949 and buried in the Pleasant Grove Cemetery in Pensacola, Florida. Sadly, his brother was already there waiting for him. Roy Foster Gilmore was a First Class Aviation Machinist’s Mate who flew off with a friend of his on May 15, 1941 near Honolulu. Gilmore was flying the aircraft at the time of the crash, but both men were killed instantly. His wife Mrs. Dorothy Lee Roberts Gilmore was notified of his death and buried him in the Pleasant Grove Cemetery. Both veterans were survived by their siblings AMM1c James Wilson Gilmore, Oren Leon Gilmore US Army, Jerry Michael Gilmore, Mrs. Helen Rose Clary, Mrs. Mildred M. Lober, and Mrs. Mary Dot Middlebrooks.
Private Ralph Lamar Gilmore, US Army
Pensacola News Journal 4-27-1945
Private Ralph Lamar Gilmore, US Army KIA Luzon 3-21--1945
Pensacola News Journal 5-16-1941