Born in Utica, Nebraska, Bob studied engineering at the University of Nebraska. The promise of earning more money as an Army officer than as an engineer prompted him to reconsider careers. He was commissioned as a second lieutenant in 1939 and assigned to Fort Huachuca, Arizona. In August, 1940 he was stationed with the 27th Infantry Divisions (the "Wolfhounds") in Oahu, Hawaii and was there during the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor. On that December 7th morning, he was the first officer to arrive at his regiment and directed the placement of machine guns on the barrack's roof to fire at attacking plans.
Bob later served with the 27th Infantry on Guadacanal and New Georgia in 1942 and 1943. After being medically evacuated from the Pacific Theater, he again saw combat in France in the Vosges Mountain area near Colmar, where in January, 1945 he was wounded in the right arm and left leg by German mortar fire while commanding a nighttime infantry task force.
In the early 1950's, Bob was among the first NATO forces in Izmir, Turkey. He, his wife Berenice, and daughter Bonnie would often visit local Greek ruins in the area, in particular Ephesus. From 1954-1957 he was head of an ROTC unit at the University of Nevada in Reno. Subsequent assignments took him to Seoul, Korea, the Pentagon, and Heidelberg, Germany, where he served as comptroller at Army Headquarters in Europe (USAREUR).
He retired as a colonel in June, 1968 after 29 years in the U.S. Army. He worked for the City of San Diego for 6 years. Bob was active in the San Diego chapter of the Pearl Harbor Survivors Association and played golf regularly as a member of the Miramar Golf Club.