 Promoted to lieutenant colonel in February 1945, Lanphier served as director of operations of the 72nd Fighter Wing of the Second Air Force until late 1945.Leaving active duty following the war, he was promoted to colonel in the Air Force Reserves in 1950.After the war he worked as an editor of the Idaho Daily Statesman and the Boise Capital News while continuing to serve as an officer and fighter pilot in the Idaho Air National Guard.