Walter Allen DeLamater
Major General, U.S. Army

Walter Allen DeLamater was born on 18 April 1880 in New York City.

DeLamater enlisted in the New York National Guard in 1900 and served with distinction in World War I. He retired as a Major General.

In 1941, he was stricken and paralyzed from a blood clot on the brain. While under anesthesia for his operation he said that heavenly, bodies, angels, admonished him that if he lived he must do something to heal the blind as Jesus had done. He firmly believed that his recovery was for some divine purpose.

Beginning in 1952, DeLamater launched his Campaign to establish Knights Templar Hospitals. After exhausting debate, it became a reality in 1955 at the 46th Triennial in New York. He guided the Knights Templar Eye Foundation that he founded from 1955 until his death in 1973. In 1973, the net assets of the KTEF were about $2 Million.

Death and Burial

Major General Walter Allen DeLamater died on 25 August 1973. He is buried at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, VA.

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