Major General Robert T. Herbert Passes Away at 64 ~ Namesake of New Yerington City Hall

On Saturday September 25th, 2021 the Nevada National Guard announced that Major General Robert T. Herbert had died at the age of 64 years.

On March 31st, 2021 the Nevada National Guard Armory  located at 14 E. Goldfield Avenue in Yerington, Nevada for the past 60 years became the Major General Robert T. Herbert Administrative Building, known also to locals as the New Yerington City Hall.

On April 1st, Journalist Heidi Andersen, writing for the Lyon County News Leader had written: “Located at the corner of East Goldfield Avenue and Main Street, the city’s newest facility had been a Nevada Army Guard Armory for more than 60 years. Its new name honors the service and commitment of a man who served more than four decades in the military and was a key player in securing funding to build or repair armories throughout Nevada, including the Yerington facility.

“I am very touched,” Herbert said during a ceremony March 31. “As a kid at 17, I was obsessed with flight… so I joined the military. My intent was only to stay in the military for three or four years, get my (pilot’s) license and go out and fly airplanes. Forty-two years and eight months later, I retired from the military. When I arrived in Nevada, I was just a young test pilot at 25. I could never envision in my life that my name would be entertained and put on a building.”

A highly decorated veteran, Herbert was a graduate of the National War College and has earned multiple honors and awards, including a Distinguished Service Medal and a General Douglas MacArthur Leadership Award. 

“Nothing means as much to me as this honor being bestowed on me today,” he said.

The building named after him housed thousands of military personnel since the early 1950s. It closed a few years ago and City Manager Robert Switzer negotiated to purchase the 4.3-acre facility from the Guard for $213,000.

“It is fitting that this armory is named after Maj. General Herbert as a way to recognize all that he has done throughout the years for the Nevada National Guard and the State of Nevada,” said Nevada Army National Guard Adjutant Gen. Ondra Berry. “So many times, we use the term ‘legacy’ so loosely. When you think about the term legacy, you think: What’s in place? What can you look at? What can you point to that’s a success? There’s so much that retired Major Gen. Herbert has done to leave a legacy for the State of Nevada. We are better off because of his work, commitment and dedication.”

Pizen Switch Times thanks Beth Ann Gable Matheus for submitting new information.