Lucky Bag Yearbook

From the 1935 Lucky Bag:

GEORGE SOLON LAMBERT

Beppo

Football 4, 3, 2, 1, N*. Boxing 4, 3, 2, 1, N. Captain Boxing. 1 P.O.

OUT from Louisiana’s swamps and bayous and toward the Naval School on the Severn strode lean and hungry George Lambert. On his way he satisfied his hunger, filled out his leanness and was in great shape for Plebe Summer. He has kept in shape ever since, only breaking training between seasons to walk extra duty. Beppo is a friendly sort of fellow. He is only in his room when required to be there. His entire leisure time is spent visiting friends in the local or foreign Batts in the successful pursuit of friendship and enjoyment. Wherever Beppo is, is a laughing group exchanging humorous incidents. As a result of his social activities Beppo is undoubtedly the most prolific spreader of bad dope in ‘35.

Loss

George was lost when USS Buck (DD 420) was torpedoed by U-616 and sank near Salerno, Italy, on October 9, 1944. He was the ship’s executive officer.

Other Information

From researcher Kathy Franz: “George’s father was Tom, a farmer, mother Mary, and sister was Berta. His brothers Philip and Clifford both served on the U. S. S. Maryland in 1939. Other siblings in the 1920 census were: Joe and Jack who worked in the oil fields, Ethel, and Thomas.”

His wife was listed as next of kin.

Legion of Merit

From Hall of Valor:

The President of the United States of America takes pride in presenting the Legion of Merit (Posthumously) to Lieutenant Commander George S. Lambert (NSN: 0-74930), United States Navy, for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services to the Government of the United States as Executive Officer of the U.S.S. BUCK (DD-420) during an attack on an enemy submarine while on convoy duty during World War II. By sound judgment and decisive action, he contributed materially to the success of the attack, which resulted in the destruction of the submarine and the capture of prisoners.

General Orders: Bureau of Naval Personnel Information Bulletin No. 326 (May 1944)
Action Date: World War II
Service: Navy
Rank: Lieutenant Commander
Company: Executive Officer
Division: U.S.S. Buck (DD-420)

Photographs

Source

"Photo of George while at the U.S. Naval Academy. He was the captain of the boxing team in 1934" Source

George is pictured in center talking to prisoners taken from an Italian submarine. Source

Navy Directories & Officer Registers

The "Register of Commissioned and Warrant Officers of the United States Navy and Marine Corps" was published annually from 1815 through at least the 1970s; it provided rank, command or station, and occasionally billet until the beginning of World War II when command/station was no longer included. Scanned copies were reviewed and data entered from the mid-1840s through 1922, when more-frequent Navy Directories were available.

The Navy Directory was a publication that provided information on the command, billet, and rank of every active and retired naval officer. Single editions have been found online from January 1915 and March 1918, and then from three to six editions per year from 1923 through 1940; the final edition is from April 1941.

The entries in both series of documents are sometimes cryptic and confusing. They are often inconsistent, even within an edition, with the name of commands; this is especially true for aviation squadrons in the 1920s and early 1930s.

Alumni listed at the same command may or may not have had significant interactions; they could have shared a stateroom or workspace, stood many hours of watch together, or, especially at the larger commands, they might not have known each other at all. The information provides the opportunity to draw connections that are otherwise invisible, though, and gives a fuller view of the professional experiences of these alumni in Memorial Hall.