Surprise, Surprise, Surprise! Pyle Promoted
From Times Wire Reports
After 37 years, Pfc. Gomer Pyle achieved the promotion to lance corporal that eluded him during five years in the Marine Corps on the popular television sitcom in the 1960s.
Actor Jim Nabors, who starred in CBS’ “Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C,” was pinned with the lance corporal insignia by Gen. James Jones, commandant of the Marine Corps, during a no-nonsense ceremony at Camp H.M. Smith in Honolulu.
Although Gomer Pyle had trouble adjusting to the Marine Corps, he displayed the attributes of a good Marine, Jones said.
“He’s honest and embodies integrity,” he said. “He is filled with determination . . . and he is loyal to a fault.”