Elmo Norton

Elmer Norman Norton, known as Elmo Norton (December 4, 1928 – December 30, 2015), was a businessman and United States Marine from his native Shreveport, Louisiana, who was long active in the development of the Republican Party in his state.

Norton was the last surviving of four children of William Thomas and Lucy Norton. After graduation from Fair Park High School in Shreveport, he served in the Marines, with fourteen months in the Korean War, in which he earned two Purple Heart medals because of shrapnel in his back and legs. He completed the Military Police Academy. He served in Japan, China, Guam, and Europe. In 2005, he was post commander for the Shreveport American Legion, during which time a member, William John "Wild Bill" Lawson (1927-2011), a native of Queens, New York City, was exposed for having posed as a major general wearing unearned medals in a charade that got out of hand. In actuality, Lawson had served in the USMC for nineteen months ending in 1946 and had not advanced beyond private first class and did not leave the country, having been injured in an accident in 1946 at Camp Pendleton in southern California. Lawson had previously lived in Florida but had become a fixture for years at veterans events in Shreveport, of which his wife was a native; he was recognized by his black patch over one eye. He had criticized Forest Park Cemetery in Shreveport, where he was subsequently interred, of having mishandled the placement of U.S. flags on veterans' graves. Alerted to the fraud by a cousin of Lawson, Norton said that he could not believe the story: "It just tears me up. It's heartbreaking. He's such a nice guy, I hate to see this happen."

After service in the Marines, Norton returned to his former post as a deputy for Caddo Parish Sheriff J. Howell Flournoy. His career thereafter was in automobile sales and management. In 1963, he was named "Citizen of the Year" by Ford Motor Company for his civic and religious dedication. He retired in 1990 as fleet manager for the Chevyland Chevrolet dealership in Shreveport. Besides the American Legion, Norton was active in the Lions International and the Episcopal Church. His Republican affiliations included associate membership in the Professional Republican Women's Club of Caddo Parish. He was active in the successful 2014 campaign to elect Republican Bill Cassidy to the United States Senate from Louisiana.

Norton and his wife of more than fifty-nine years, the former Sylvia Littlejohn, were world and national travelers. He was an accomplished dancer. The Nortons had a daughter, Lisa Norton Walker and husband, Clay, and a grandson, Jamie Walker. He was inurned in the columbarium of St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Shreveport.