Current Residence: Austin, Texas
Family: Wife Jenny (Sperling) Lambert, married in 1970 (46 years). She's a '68 Greenon grad, University of Houston grad and paralegal for many years, then helped manage my office in Houston. Jenny's family still lives in the Enon area, including her sister Susan Staton; nieces and nephews Billy Staton, Larry Staton Jr., Brandon Emmons and Susie Emmons '91.
Our son Josh, 38, attended Ohio State University and graduated from the University of Texas, and our daughter-in-law Yvonne also attended Ohio State and graduated from Texas. They are part of the band the Octopus Project and have won awards such as the Sundance Musical Score Award for one of their movies.
My brother Marty is a ’72 Greenon graduate and a doctor in Yoakum (Shiner — yes, where the beer comes from) Texas.
Career After the Military: Emory University from Air Force for two years. Moved to Houston and became professor of clinical ophthalmology at Weill Medical School of Cornell/Houston Methodist/Blanton Eye Institute, Baylor College of Medicine and Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences in Bethesda. Founder of Retina and Vitreous of Texas LLC. "Retired" in 2013 to Austin. Currently examine/treat/do surgery on charity retina patients at I Care San Antonio. Other things: Founding director of U.S. Air Force Academy Endowment Board, Robert Machemer Foundation (Duke) co-founder and treasurer, Greenon Foundation co-founder, Giampetro Scholarship co-Founder with Jenny, 100 Club of Houston and Central Texas (foundations for police and fire around Texas), lifetime members and donors to the Nantucket Retina Foundation, board member for House of Charity (brings Pakistani kids to Houston for medical treatment), donor and board member for the USAFA SEA Pavilion and Plaza of Heroes. Entrepreneur with Targeted Shopping Solutions, Colorado Mountain Brewery, Sweet Leaf Tea, Rhythm Super Foods, iEntertainment, LVX System and others.
Hobbies: Exercise, computers, photography, cars (restoration and rallies), current vice president of Ferrari Club of America, member of Corvette, Mercedes, Porsche and flying clubs.
Branch of Service: U.S. Air Force
RELATED: Hometown Heroes: Honoring Clark and Champaign County veterans
Did you join the military or were you drafted? Joined via the U.S. Air Force Academy, '66-'70
Dates of Service: 1966-1990
Deployments/Bases: '66-'70, U.S. Air Force Academy; '70-'74, supersonic jet flight instructor (T-38) at Laughlin Air Force Base; '74-'77, Baylor College of Medicine; '77-'82, Wilford Hall U.S. Air Force Medical Center (WHMC) internship, residency in ophthalmology; '82-'83 Duke University Fellowship in vitreoretinal surgery; '83-'90 staff then chairman of the Department of Ophthalmology, Chief Division of Surgery WHMC, consultant to the Surgeon General.
Total time that you served? 21 years, three months, plus four years at the academy. (I given four years for medical school although completed it in under three.)
What did you gain from serving in the military? My life. The academy taught me what my dad had taught me: Integrity first, service before self and excellence in all we do. I've tried to live a life honoring those values and helping others.
What do you remember most about your service? My academy classmates and other friends we made along the way and their willingness to give it all (many did) for this great country. The camaraderie between us that never goes away. Basically the great people with whom we served. Flying supersonic jets wasn't too bad, either.
What would you like readers to know about your military experience? It allowed me to accomplish things I would have only dreamed about otherwise.
Is there anything else you want readers to know about you that we didn't ask? I'd encourage any young person to consider doing something of service (military, peace corps, PHS, etc.) before embarking on the rest of their lives.
Hometown Heroes is a weekly feature profiling Clark and Champaign County veterans compiled with the assistance of local Vietnam veteran Randy Ark. To nominate a veteran, e-mail samantha.sommer@coxinc.com or randyark48@gmail.com or call 937-328-0363. Any veteran of any military branch, years of service and age is eligible to be profiled.
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