Bob spent his early years in Baltimore, Maryland, where he loved riding his Big Wheel and playing with Transformers. When he was three, his father died in a work-related accident. Two years later, his mother remarried, and the family moved to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. In grade school, Bob played hockey, baseball, football, and soccer. He graduated from North Hills High School in 1993, where he played on the soccer team. Known for his kindness and easygoing nature, he got along with everyone. Outside of school, he enjoyed video games.

In 1997, Bob enlisted in the Army Reserve, partly to honor his late father, a Vietnam veteran. He served for three years before being discharged in 2000 but remained eligible for service through the Army’s Individual Ready Reserve (IRR). One month before completing his five-year IRR commitment, he was recalled to active duty and assigned to the 467th Engineer Battalion, U.S. Army Reserve, based in Greenwood, Mississippi. As part of Operation Iraqi Freedom, his unit deployed to a forward base in Ad Dujayl, about 40 miles north of Baghdad. On June 28, 2005, after seven months in Iraq, Bob was killed while guarding the base’s entry gate when a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device detonated near his post.

His legacy lives on through his daughter, Rachael, and the many family members, friends, and fellow service members whose lives he touched.