A late, native Bristolian who dedicated his brilliant mind for engineering and decades of his life to the United States Army earned a proper distinction at a recent induction ceremony held at Fort Gregg in Adams, Va.

Since 1969, the Ordinance Corps. Hall of Fame has recognized and memorialize individuals who made positive and noteworthy contributions to the U.S. Army Ordinance Corps. Their inductees include individuals such as J.C. Garand and J.M. Browning, two of the most famed rifle inventors of all time, and Dr. Werhner Von Braun, whose expertise in rocketry would eventually lead to the successes of the American space program.

Robert E. Vermette, born in 1937 as a native Bristolian, is now included among the ranks of such men, after being inducted into the 2024 Hall of Fame class on May 6.

According to Vermette’s sister, Edna Greene (who still lives in Bristol), Vermette attended La Salle Academy and would go on to graduate from The University of Rhode Island in 1958 before going into ROTC and then enlisting in the Army.

“He was very Type A. Everything had to be exact. He graduated as an electrical engineer and really had that mentality,” Greene, who became a registered nurse, said of her brother. “We were only 11 and a half months apart. It was only the two of us. Of course, we fought a lot, but we always respected each other, even though we were very different.”

According to Vermette’s induction ceremony biography, he was commissioned as an Ordinance Officer but detailed as a a guided missile officer, “which would later prove invaluable to the country.” It indicated he had an early assignment with the aforementioned Dr. Von Braun at Redstone Arsenal in Alabama, where he would later work as a Second Lieutenant developing and refining the radio guidance system used to determine the trajectory and distance of the Atlas missile system.

Continuing to rise through the ranks, Vermette (as a Major) would be tasked as an Embarkation Officer to serve in Vietnam, supporting the 3rd Marine Division in the hostile operations being conducted in Quan Tri.
“His familiarity and knowledge in the logistic field contributed to the rapid assessment and solution of numerous supply problems inherent in a combat environment and greatly enhanced the allied effectiveness against the enemies,” the biography reads.

After the war, Vermette (now a Lieutenant Colonel), was at the time “the US Army’s only laser expert.” This led to an assignment at the famed White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico, where tests of the first atomic bomb and the V2 Rocket were conducted, and the Space Shuttle Columbia landed safely after completing its mission in 1982.

There, Vermette was commended by Major General Patrick Powers for his help in the development of an integrated testing system for the AAH/ASH/Hellfire and Laser designators, which amounted to cost savings estimated to be $138.8 million. He would become the Chief of the Office of Missiles and Electronic Warfare, and “led the team developing and testing world-leading, laser guidance systems.”

“LTC Vermette and his team’s contribution was patriotic and humanitarian,” the biography reads. “They identified the electronic signatures of airplanes; this led to the Countermeasures Program to prevent civilian aircraft destruction by laser and electronic means still used in commercial air travel today.”

Vermette’s wife of 60 years, Alice, accepted the Hall of Fame induction award on his behalf.

“My mother would have been so proud,” Greene said of the ceremony.