A retired Marine Corps colonel and Vietnam veteran was laid to rest in Arlington National Cemetery May 31. Among his numerous deployments, awards and accomplishments, Col. Robert F. Gibson will be remembered for his explicit disdain of D.C.-area drivers.
“A native of Northern Virginia for the last 30 years of his life, he hated how all of you were incapable of driving competently,” read Gibson’s obituary, which ran in the Washington Post on Sunday.
Gibson’s family said they intentionally included that bit to provide a glimpse into Gibson’s daily life.
“It’s a general sentiment a lot of folks have,” Gibson’s widow, Barbara, told NBC Washington. “He traveled on the Beltway, and traffic is horrendous.”
Gibson graduated from the U.S. Air Force Academy in 1962 and commissioned as an officer in the Marine Corps that year. He deployed twice to Vietnam and participated in operations in Honduras, Beirut, Norway, the Philippines, Kuwait and Desert Storm during his 30-year career.
Gibson wrote foundational doctrine for the Marine Air Command and Control System and earned several personal awards, including the Legion of Merit with Gold Star and the Bronze Star with Combat Distinguishing Device.
Gibson died on Dec. 26, 2017, in Annandale, Virginia, at the age of 77. He was buried at Arlington with full military honors.
