Staff Sergeant Lambert was the tail gunner of a B-26C Invader bomber with the 90th Bomber Squadron, 3rd Bomber Group based at Kunsan Air Force Base (K-8), Korea. On 1 April 1953, while on a night intruder mission, his aircraft was hit by anti-aircraft fire and it landed in a rice paddy. He was listed as Missing in Action and was presumed dead on 2 April 1954. His remains were not recovered. His name is inscribed on the Courts of the Missing at the Honolulu Memorial.

For his leadership and valor, Staff Sergeant Lambert was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Air Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster, the Purple Heart, the Korean Service Medal, the United Nations Service Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, the Korean Presidential Unit Citation and the Republic of Korea War Service Medal.