James Herbert Dieffenderfer (1923-1945)

James Dieffenderfer was a native of Easton, Pennsylvania and graduated from Wilson High School in 1941. He entered Dickinson in the autumn of 1941 and enlisted in the United States Marine Corps in 1942. He was a participant in the unprecedented accelerated degree program; when he enlisted he was assigned to Franklin and Marshall College, completing his Dickinson degree there on February 29, 1944. In his time between the two colleges, he became a member of Phi Kappa Sigma fraternity.

Upon graduation, he was trained at Parris Island and completed officer candidate school at Camp Le Jeune, North Carolina in October 1944. He was assigned to the Pacific in December 1944 with fellow Dickinsonian Milton Fussell and joined the 1st Battalion, 1st Marine Division for the invasion of Okinawa in April 1945. On May 2, 1945, Lt. Dieffenderfer was killed in action on the island, joining more than 12,500 Americans lost (including three Dickinsonians) in securing what was intended to be the main staging area for the final invasion of the Japanese home islands.

More information about other Dickinson war casualties can be found through the online project "In Remembrance" (see link for related entries below).