Army Private Ralph Lamar Gilmore was born in Brandenburg, Alabama on September 5, 1925, the son of Daniel Cleveland Gilmore (1885-1971) and Sarah Lydia Kilpatrick (1894-1984). The family moved to Munson in Santa Rosa County where his father took employment as a "skidder" foreman with a local sawmill and rented at house for $10 per month. By 1940, the family had relocated to 2015 North 8th Avenue in Pensacola while his father continued his same line of work. By this time, Ralph's brother Roy Foster Gilmore had enlisted in the US Navy on November 23, 1933 as an aviation machinist mate. Stationed at Pearl Harbor on May 14, 1941, As the pilot, Roy taxied down the runway with his radioman William Votaw Sloan and took off in his J2F-3 aircraft. Immediately upon takeoff, he crashed into the Pearl City Channel and hit lighted buoy #7 at 11:40 AM. Both of the men were drowned. Roy's remains were brought home and buried in the Pleasant Grove Cemetery.
Seven months later, America was at war with Japan! When duty called, his brother Ralph was inducted into the Army in December 1943 and processed through Camp Blanding, Florida. He then proceeded through various training programs at Camp Vandoren, Fort Meade, and Fort Ord. Finally, he was sent overseas in January 1945 and assigned to the 103rd Infantry Regiment of the 43rd Infantry Division. On January 9, 1945, the regiment landed on Luzon in the Philippines and took the lead on the left wing of the invasion force. The fighting soon became very intense with casualties mounting. In February, the regiment received a respite before returning to the front where they mounted a surprise attack on the enemy's formidable Shimbu Line defenses. This line was heavily defended by 30,000 enemy troops entrenched behind strong fortifications in rugged terrain. Here, Private Gilmore met his fate on March 21, 1945. His parents received word that they had lost yet another son in the service to their country. His remains were brought home and buried next to his brother Roy on February 5, 1949.
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