Victor Lamby
1927
Victor A. Lamby.
How He Died
Manner
Homicide
Cause
Gunshot wound
Mechanism
Firearm
What Happened
Coast Guardsman Victor Lamby, Coast Guardsman Sidney Sanderlin, and Operative Robert Webster of the United States Secret Service were shot and killed by a suspect they had just arrested for rum-running near the Bimini Islands. Guardsman Lamby succumbed to his wounds four days later. The incident occurred after their Coast Guard Cutter CGC 249 stopped the suspect's boat. The killer, a 43-year-old gulf stream pirate, was called the "King of the Rum Runners" during the prohibition era. He was sentenced to death and hung at the Coast Guard station in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, on August 17, 1929. This was the only execution ever carried out by the U.S. Coast Guard, the only execution ever carried out in a seaplane hangar, and the last legal hanging in Florida. A man with him on his boat was sentenced to one year after he turned in state evidence. Coast Guardsman Lamby had served with the United States Coast Guard Office of Law Enforcement for one year.
Survivors
He was survived by his wife.
Service Record
Also Served
United States Coast Guard
Coast Guardsman
In Our Keeping
Permanent identifier
neuraspine_01krbxtn27x6ztr3nnan7vd5nx
Record added
August 2, 2026
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Last updated
August 2, 2026
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