A FATHER’S WALL OF MILITARY SERVICE
I would like to share the story of my father, Pershing Wood Lambert.
He was named after General John J. (Black Jack) Pershing and Major General Leonard Wood, the first Colonel appointed to the Rough Riders. Teddy Roosevelt was his friend and Lt. Colonel. It is only fitting that Dad would join the military. He chose the Marines in August of 1941. Later, Sergeant Major Maurice J. Jacques, would mention Dad in his book, stating he was one tough individual, and had to be with a name like that in the Corps.
Dad served 30 years and retired as a Master Gunnery Sergeant in August of 1971. He was in the first wave at Red Beach in Guadalcanal and fought in New Britain and New Guinea. Dad also served in Korea and completed three tours in Vietnam. He was one of the advisers that were in country in January and February 1965, prior to the first major landings by Marines in the coming months. He shared little of his experiences with us, but left behind a treasure of paper work chronicling his service, which I did not find until after his passing in 1998. One of the items found was a letter written to his Mother on August 20th 1942, while on Guadalcanal.
Dad had to quit High School in the 10th grade, when his father died, to support his Mom and some of his siblings, that were still at home. He never really told me, what prompted him to join the Marines, other than maybe the growing threat of our involvement in WWII, and a steady income for his Mom and siblings? In 1962, while stationed in Hawaii, he requested to retire and go into the Marine Reserves.
In May of that Year and with the growing unrest in the world, he recanted his plan and reenlisted, asking to remain in Hawaii. In perfect Marine Corp fashion, they shipped us to San Diego in August of that year. He spent the rest of his career at MCRD, Camp Pendleton and Vietnam.
I am the youngest, and was only 12 when he retired in 1971. I have probably heard the most stories of any of my siblings, since he opened up more in his latter years. My oldest Brother tried to get Dad to just tell stories into a tape recorder, but he never did. He was very humble and proud of his service, and never thought of himself as anything other than a regular person, who was honored to serve. Sadly, we lost Dad on July 1, 1998. We buried him at Fort Rosecrans in San Diego. Mother joined him in 2008.
This is the last photo of him with his wall of military life.
~ Micahel Lambert
We offer many thanks to Michael for honoring his father’s service and sharing his story with us on Comes A Soldier’s Whisper where we are all connected.
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