Paternal grandfather

Richard Joseph Lambert

United States Coast Guard · USCGC Bibb (WPG-31) · Korean War

Service

Coast Guard service during the Korean War aboard the Treasury-class cutter USCGC Bibb — North Atlantic ocean-station duty from Boston.

Branch
United States Coast Guard
Ship
USCGC Bibb (WPG-31)
Rank
To be confirmed
Service dates
To be confirmed (Korean War era)

Richard served during the Korean War era aboard USCGC Bibb, homeported in Boston. He did not deploy overseas — his hitch was North Atlantic ocean-station and peacetime cutter duty in U.S. waters. Exact enlistment and separation dates are not yet confirmed from family papers or Coast Guard muster rolls.

Photographs

Family photographs from Richard’s Coast Guard service aboard Bibb.

  • Richard Joseph Lambert on shipboard in chambray uniform, name stenciled on shirt
    On deck aboard USCGC Bibb — chambray work uniform with “LAMBERT” stenciled above the pocket.
  • Richard Joseph Lambert in Coast Guard dress white uniform
    Studio portrait in Coast Guard dress whites.
  • USCGC Bibb (WPG-31) underway
    USCGC Bibb (WPG-31), the Treasury-class cutter Richard served aboard during the Korean War era. U.S. Coast Guard photograph (public domain).

Coast Guard in the Korean War

When North Korea invaded the South in June 1950, the Coast Guard expanded port security, weather reporting, and search-and-rescue support. Cutters on Atlantic ocean stations — including Bibb, homeported in Boston — gathered meteorological data that reached commanders in Korea and ships carrying war materiel across the Pacific. Bibb did not deploy to the combat theater; her war-era work was standing ocean-station patrols in the North Atlantic.

Richard’s ship
USCGC Bibb (WPG-31), Treasury-class cutter
Homeport (era)
Boston, Massachusetts
Typical duty
Ocean-station weather patrol, SAR, communications relay

The Coast Guard also trained South Korean naval personnel, manned port-security units, and extended LORAN navigation in the Pacific, but Bibb’s Korean War-era record is Atlantic ocean-station service out of Boston.

Bibb during the Korean War

Until muster rolls or family papers confirm Richard’s exact dates aboard, this timeline follows what Bibb was doing in the Atlantic during the war.

  1. June 1950

    War begins

    North Korea crosses the 38th parallel. The Coast Guard mobilizes for port security under the Magnuson Act and expands ocean-station coverage to feed weather data to forces in Korea and trans-Pacific shipping.

  2. 1950

    Ocean Station Dog & Easy

    Bibb, homeported in Boston, serves on North Atlantic ocean stations — including Dog (October) and Easy (December). Cutters on station transmitted weather observations and acted as radio relays for transatlantic aircraft.

  3. 1951–1952

    Atlantic patrols continue

    Bibb rotates through ocean-station assignments in the North Atlantic. In February 1952 she sustained minor damage when a Navy tug collided with her in Narragansett Bay. March–April 1952 brought duty on Ocean Station Charlie.

  4. 1952–1953

    Echo, Coca, Delta & armistice

    Late 1952: Ocean Station Echo. February 1953: Ocean Station Coca. July 1953: Ocean Station Delta — the same month the Korean Armistice was signed. Bibb remained on peacetime Atlantic stations; she never joined the small Coast Guard force that served in Korean waters.

About this page

Richard’s service is remembered here as Korean War–era Coast Guard duty aboard Bibb. Rank, enlistment, and separation dates can be filled in when family papers or NARA muster rolls confirm them.

Bibb had a long career before and after Korea — including extensive World War II convoy escort.

Sources

Hero photograph: Family photograph