Bob graduated high school in 1924 and joined the US Army Air Corps. (The US Air Force was not born yet.) 

Stationed in Corsica, France, Bob was a gunner on the B-26 Marauder, with the 320th Bomb Group and the 444th Bomb Squadron. The B-26 was a medium bomber plane that flew fast. Bob said that they flew mostly night missions at very low altitudes to avoid radar and being seen. The twin engine was often referred to as the “widow maker” because of the high air speed required to keep it in the air. Bob was able to do some ground trips into Germany at the end of the war. Although, at a terrible time in history, he really liked the country and the German people. 

After the war, in 1946, Bob married his high school sweetheart, Mary Lou Flynn. Bob and Mary Lou worked hard to raise nine children. Bob was an honest dignified family man. He also had an innate call to civil service. He was a Volunteer with the VETS, Knights of Columbus, and Sacred Heart Society. Bob was a lifelong Boy Scout Leader and Volunteer Fire Fighter. He spent many decades as a member of the Erlanger Fire Department. When age and health slowed him from making fire runs, he still served to the best of his abilities by working at the firehouse washing fire hoses, etc. Bob passed in 2008. A son of “The Greatest Generation“, Bob was a man that dedicated his life to family and to the Erlanger community.

Bio provided by Bill Tholemeier

Bob’s Honor Banner is on display in Erlanger, May – September 2023-2025.