By Emma Bouthillette 

Staff Writer

Being the youngest of eight boys, in George Lambert’s eyes, his big brothers were his heroes, but for their service in the armed forces, the Lambert brothers became United States heroes.

George Lambert, 65, of Kennebunk, said he always enjoyed the stories his six brothers told of their experiences in the armed services. Turning his interest into a project, he said he researched their military histories for about one year, and recently published a documentary titled “Brothers and Heroes: A Chronicle of Military Service of Six Americans.” 

“Every time we’d get together, I was just fascinated as a young kid by all their stories. Originally, I was just going to write this for family, but [older brother] Lou encouraged me to publish it,” George Lambert said.

George Lambert’s six brothers who served in the armed forces are Armand Lambert, who died while serving as a marine in Guam during World War II; Larry Lambert, 81, who served in the army and is the only brother still living in their hometown of Augusta; Paul Lambert, 80, who served as a marine and now lives in New Hampshire; Jean Lambert, 78, a former marine currently living in Florida; Bill Lambert, a sergeant in the army who died in 1998 of lung cancer and Lou Lambert, 73, a member of the air force who lives in Hollywood. Second oldest brother Martin Lambert died at 12 years old from gangrene due to a ruptured appendix. He and George Lambert were the only two siblings who did not join the military service. 

With six brothers serving, George Lambert said when he was finally old enough he wanted to serve his country too.

At the time he was graduating from with a degree in accounting from Husson College in Bangor and the country was becoming involved in the Vietnam War. He said his first attempt was enrolling in Officer Candidate School, but said he was rejected based on a knee injury he received in high school. Then, he said he tried to enlist, but they rejected him for the same reason but told him he could still be drafted. In the meantime, he said he was able to find a job in Portland at an accounting firm, married his wife Mariette Lambert, 65, and was never drafted.

“I tried, but it didn’t work out. So I never went [into service],” George Lambert said. 

With four of his six brothers still alive, George Lambert was able to receive first hand accounts about their experiences for the documentary, but said sometimes it was difficult.

“With Jean, it was nearly impossible to get him to talk. He saw a lot of combat while on duty in Korea and he doesn’t like to discuss what he saw,” George Lambert said. “It’s Paul who really started the process. He’s always been interested in genealogy and about 10 years ago found a reference to Armand being court-martialed, but never told anyone.”  

George Lambert said during Armand Lambert’s service, he was charged with stealing 45 cents worth of candy and gum from an officer and sentenced to one year in prison and then dishonorably discharged. In the documentation of the court-martial, Armand Lambert volunteered to serve on the front lines if he was released, and then was killed in action shortly there after. When he realized how upset his brother’s were in finding out about the court-martial, George Lambert said he investigated the case, and made a few phone calls, which led the Marine Corps to expunge Armand Lambert’s record of the court-martial.

More information about Armand Lambert was found through a two by four inch diary he kept that Larry Lambert held onto. George Lambert was able to read through the diary and transcribe the information as part of the book. 

Armand Lambert, who served between Dec. 14, 1941 and July 21, 1944, wrote an entry in his diary, “Weight losses in muscular, toughened young adults ran as high as 45 pounds. Rain, heat, insects, dysentery, malaria, all contributed, but a disturbance of the whole organism, a disorder of thinking and living, or even wanting to live…Fear of all kinds had to enter into the causative picture. Most men experienced fear as they approached the beach. Some tell you of their fear of being afraid and of feeling relief and exhilaration as soon as they went into actual combat. But new attacks, new near bomb hits would relight sudden fear.” 

“It was most fascinating to me to learn how the military works, especially the part concerning Armand’s court-martial,” George Lambert said. “I found so many things about my family, and then was able to put it into a whole historical context. I went away to boarding school when I was 13, so the amount of information about my own family that I didn’t know was amazing.”

“Brothers and Heroes: A Chronicle of Military Service of Six Americans” is the first book George Lambert has published, but not the first he has written. After retiring from accounting in 2001, George Lambert returned to a passion he had since his years in boarding school—writing. Since then, he has written nine children’s books, one of which his daughter Celeste Lambert is illustrating. He has nearly finished two novels as well, but said he has been unable to sell his fiction writing to a publishing company, but hopes one day they will be published. 

When George Lambert contacted Publish America in Baltimore, the company offered to print “Brothers and Heroes: A Chronicle of Military Service of Six Americans,” in a shortened version from his original manuscript. Despite wanting to maintain the length and colored pictures, George Lambert agreed, and the book can now be purchased for $19.95 through www.amazon.com or at local bookstores.