Robert had been on the USS Calvert but transferred over when the Calvert broke down just prior to sailing for the invasion of Sicily in 1943. He stayed onboard the Lee until just after the invasion of Tarawa. He was left behind there, assigned to the boat pool on Tarawa for many months.

He was in the Pacific till after the end of the war, sailing on LST-273 and USS Brister. Brister was one of the ships that made the daring rescue of 1500 prisoners of war held by the Japanese on Formosa. But by Christmas 1945 he was discharged and back home in Indiana.