SCHLAMP, Raymond

Photo courtesy: Telegraph Herald

SCHLAMP, Raymond. (LeRoy, WI, Jan. 3, 1916--Dornot, France, Sept. 8, 1944) In 1941 at the age of 28, Private First Class Raymond Schlamp was assigned to an infantry regiment in General George Patton's Third Army. His unit came under heavy German fire while attempting to cross the Moselle River in an area known as Horseshoe Woods near Dornot, France. It was reported that his fellow soldiers hid his body on the riverbank. When a medical unit returned the following morning, Raymond's body could not be found. After several attempts over several years to find his body, Raymond's name was recorded on the Walls of the Missing at Epinal American Cemetery in Dinoze, France. He was declared "unrecoverable."

In 2021, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency was carrying out on-going research into missing soldiers listed in combat in and around Dornot when an unidentified body was found in the Lorraine American Cemetery in Lemey, France. Using anthropological, genomic, and dental analysis, the remains were identified as Raymond's. His family members were briefed on the findings prior to a public news release. In France, a rosette will be placed next to his name on the Walls of the Missing to indicated that he was found.

A Celebration of Life was held on April 6, 2024 at the Lawrence Community Center in Anamosa, Iowa. A gathering of approximately three hundred family members, friends of the family and community members witnessed military honors accorded by the United States Army. An honor guard was presented by members of the AMERICAN LEGION, NATIONAL SOCIETY OF THE SONS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION, and a dozen units of the American Legion from around the Midwest. His remains were later buried that day in a private ceremony at LINWOOD CEMETERY. (2)

Raymond Schlamp is believed the first fallen soldier from WORLD WAR II to be identified using DNA.

The following poem was published by Raymond's mother, Mrs. Mabel Schlamp and sisters, Mrs. Burt Boyes and Mrs. Ronald Wold in the Dubuque Telegraph-Herald on September 11, 1951:

                        I cannot say, I will not say,
                       That he is dead, he is just away
                 With a cheery smile and a wave of his hand
                     He has vanished into an unknown land.
                      And left us dreaming, how very fair,
                   Its needs must be, since he linger there.
                   And you, on you, who the wildest yearn,
                    For old-time step and the glad return.
                       Think of him faring on as dear,
                  In the love of there, as the love of here:
                     Think of him still as they say I say,
                      "He is not dead, he is just away."   (3)

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Source:

1. "Remains of Dubuque WWII Vet Recovered Decades After Death," Telegraph Herald

2. Obituaries "Raymond U. Schlampp" Cedar Rapids Gazette, March 19, 2024

3. Obituary, April 6, 2024