James Benjamin Lampert

James Benjamin Lampert (April 16, 1914 – July 10, 1978) was a United States Army Lieutenant General, Superintendent of the United States Military Academy (1963–1966), and early pioneer of nuclear weapons and nuclear power. Lampert was General Leslie Groves' executive officer as part of the Manhattan Project after World War II. Lampert was a grandson of Wisconsin U.S. representative Florian Lampert.

Early life and education

Born in Washington, D.C., on April 16, 1914, Lampert was the son of Lt. Col. James G. B. Lampert, USMA 1910, who died in January 1919 while serving with the American Expeditionary Forces in Europe. He spent his childhood in Wisconsin, where his mother moved after his father died.

Early military career With the onset of World War II, Lampert was assigned to the South Pacific where he commanded an engineer aviation battalion in the Fiji Islands and Solomon Islands. In January 1944 he became the XIV Corps chief engineer, where he participated in the invasion of Luzon, Philippines, and the subsequent liberation of Manila in March 1945. Following the war, Lampert joined the Air Force's Special Weapons Project and became the executive officer to Lieutenant General Leslie R. Groves, who was chief of the Manhattan Project (1947–1949).

Personal Lampert married Margery Frances "Gerri" Mitchell on June 26, 1937, at the Military Academy Cadet Chapel. Her father was Brig. Gen. William A. Mitchell. Their first child Margery Katharine died four months after birth. They later had two sons and another daughter. Lampert is buried with his wife and infant daughter at the West Point Cemetery.