Ready to Lend a Helping Hand

By Lauren Perry

Robert Abbott

August 5, 1941 – February 20, 2006

Robert “Bob” Abbott Jr. was born August 5, 1941 to Robert and Stella Abbott.[1] Bob and his three younger siblings grew up in Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania, a small college town in the countryside of Pennsylvania.[2] To help boost the family income, Bob’s father enlisted in the U.S. Navy and served his four years so the family could receive the benefits.[3] After his time in the Navy, he worked as an engineer for the local hospital, just a few blocks away from their home.[4] Coming from a lower middle-class family, Bob occasionally helped his father at the hospital, even though he was never paid, to make sure his father was able to finish the day’s work.[5]

Growing up, Bob was a mischievous kid who loved baseball—maybe a little too much. When he came down with rheumatic fever in elementary school, he snuck out to the field behind his house to play baseball with his friends. When his mother caught him, she tried to strap him to a chair, but even that couldn’t stop him. He managed to bat while a friend ran the bases for him. It was moments such as this that earned him a naughty, yet harmless reputation within his family.[6]

While attending the local university in Bloomsburg, Bob had dropped baseball as a possibility and was struggling to find a career path that interested him[7]. As he began to consider a career in the military, Bob’s father pushed him towards the Navy, but he eventually settled with the Coast Guard and their “little boats” (as his father called them).[8]

So, at the age of 21, Bob enlisted in the U.S. Coast Guard as a radioman[9] (now known as an Operations Specialist).[10] His first tour of duty was on a cutter traveling between Seattle, Washington and Kodiak, Alaska,[11] where the main missions of the Coast Guard included “search and rescue, pollution prevention and response, waterways management, port security, vessel inspections, and investigations.”[12] As a radioman in the 1960s Bob was in charge of receiving, replying and relaying Morse Code messages. He truly enjoyed this aspect of the job and was even caught, years later, writing notes to himself in Morse Code.[13]

While on duty in Kodiak, Bob was caught in the infamous earthquake of March 27, 1964.[14] Recorded as a magnitude 9.2 earthquake and lasting for 4.5 minutes, it is the largest earthquake to hit the United States and the second largest ever recorded.[15] Bob remembered his microphone swinging back and forth as the earthquake started. His rolling chair slammed into the wall behind him from the force of the shaking. As he ran out the door, it was the first and last time he had ever pushed past his commanding officer.[16] With all the damage and chaos, Bob’s family was unable to contact him or even know if he was safe for several days.[17]

Just hours after the initial tremors, the U.S. Coast Guard initiated Operation Helping Hand, “a joint military and civilian effort unparalleled in Alaskan if not in our nation’s history.”[18] With mass destruction (estimating between $400 and $500 million) and 131 deaths, Operation Helping Hand used 12 types of aircraft to bring in supplies that had been cut off as well as clear the debris from the cities affected.[19] Within a few weeks, Alaska was recovering and no longer needed the Coast Guard’s assistance.[20]

With all the fear and anxiety his family went through during the earthquake, it’s no coincidence Bob’s next tour was near his parents’ new home in St. Louis, Missouri.[21] He was stationed along the Mississippi River,[22] where the Coast Guard’s duty is focused on maritime mobility, security and safety, as well as the protection of natural recourses.[23] His parents lived in an apartment near the hospital where his father found a job, again as an engineer. Just one floor below lived Nancy, the Director of Recreation for the same hospital. From the first date, Bob knew she was the “the one,” however it took Nancy a few more dates than that to be sure.[24]

After his tour in St. Louis was complete, Bob began thinking of his next steps in the Coast Guard. He had already turned down several promotional opportunities to become an officer because he absolutely loved his mentoring role as a high-ranking radioman.[25] As he was making this decision, the Vietnam War was beginning to intensify and there was a good chance the Coast Guard was going to be deployed into combat. This sealed his decision. His family couldn’t live through the trauma of sending their son to war. They had lost Bob’s younger brother Jimmy, just twelve years old, to leukemia and couldn’t survive another loss if something happened abroad.[26]

Ever dedicated to the service, Bob decided to join the reserves rather than stay in active duty. He married Nancy and together they moved to St. Louis Park, Minnesota.[27] He used the G.I. Bill to finish his degree at St. Cloud State University.[28] The G.I. Bill in the 1960s allowed all veterans to receive stipends that covered education costs, among other things.[29] He was stationed part time along the Mississippi River in St. Paul while he went to school. He realized that with his love for mentoring his fellow radiomen, he wanted to become a teacher.[30]

Unfortunately, after graduation, Bob was unable to find a job as a teacher; rather, he found employment as a Safety Engineer in the insurance industry. It was then that his company moved him to Denver, Colorado.[31] He joined the Coast Guard unit in Denver and worked the Green River in Wyoming and Chatfield Reservoir in Denver.[32] Working in insurance in Colorado had its benefits. For one, he enjoyed hosting the occasional training event where he could put his teaching skills to use. But more excitingly, one of Bob’s clients was Ralston Purina who was, at that time, the owner of Keystone Resort. Bob actually had to spend several days skiing every lift in order to make sure the ski lifts were up to code and safe for guests. His friends and family would joke about how “horrible” his job was treating him. It was perks like these that were the reason he loved his job.[33] He eventually got involved in the oil industry as a safety engineer and became in charge of the entire western region. He traveled often from Colorado to California and even as far north as Alaska, doing safety inspections of oil rigs and wells.[34]

Bob spent two weeks every summer with the Coast Guard at different port of calls across the country doing inspections of foreign ships. Nancy and their young daughters, Angela and Heather, would use this as an opportunity to travel and sight-see port cities. They would visit on the weekend and enjoy all that tourism has to offer.[35] One of Bob’s favorite stories to tell was when he was stationed in California and he was assigned to inspect a Russian ship. Much to his surprise, he had to sit and drink Russian vodka to gain permission to board the ship. Bob, not a big drinker, struggled to finish his share. Looking back, it was one of the most memorable moments he had of the Coast Guard.[36]

Bob retired from the Coast Guard on January 1, 2000 with the rank Chief Warrant Officer W-4 (a technical expert involved in training and counselling roles)[37]with 37 years of service behind him.[38] He wanted a new start for the new century and felt it was the perfect time to retire.[39]

Bob had always been a dedicated family man and father, volunteering for the many activities his two daughters were involved in.[40] He was constantly teaching them the meaning of respect and honesty, two key lessons he took away from his time in the service. Once, at his daughter’s swim meet for which he was a referee, he actually disqualified his own daughter for a small mistake. Of course, she was mad. How could her own father disqualify her? It was his infallible honesty and a deep desire to do what was right that made Bob who he was. He did his best to do right in every aspect of his life, and that included teaching his daughters and their peers.[41]

Casting of the Honor Bell in 2016 (Credit: The Honor Bell Foundation)

Bob Abbott passed away in 2006 at the age of 64.[42] He lived by the phrase “Make ‘em proud”: in whatever you choose to do in life, do something that would make anybody proud to know you.[43] His service definitely made his family proud. In 2016, Nancy Abbott was approached by the Honor Bell Foundation in search of a Coast Guard veteran to be part of a bell forged of honor. The Abbott family donated Bob’s uniform belt buckle and a dog tag to be melted down with artifacts of eleven other veterans and incorporated into the metal of the bell. Nancy, her daughters, Angela and Heather, along with their own children attended the casting of the bell in Ohio. When it was finally revealed, Nancy’s granddaughters, even though they had never met their grandfather, were in awe at how he could be a part of something so much bigger than himself.[44] The bell now tolls for veteran burials at Fort Logan National Cemetery and Bob Abbott’s legacy lives on.

Footnotes ↓

[2] “Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania,” Wikipedia, accessed July 28, 2020, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bloomsburg,_Pennsylvania.

[3] Ibid.

[4] Nancy Abbott, interview with Lauren Perry, August 3, 2020, DU VLP.

[5] Ibid.

[6] Ibid.

[7] Ibid.

[8] Ibid.

[9] “Robert Abbott, Jr.’s Honor Bell Artifacts,” Honor Bell Foundation, accessed June 23, 2020, https://www.honorbell.org/news?tag=artifact%20stories.

[10] “Radioman,” Wikipedia, accessed July 28, 2020, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radioman.

[11] Nancy Abbott, interview with Lauren Perry.

[12] “Sector Anchorage,” United States Coast Guard, accessed July 28, 2020, https://www.pacificarea.uscg.mil/Our-Organization/District-17/17th-District-Units/Sector-Anchorage/.

[13] Nancy Abbott, interview with Lauren Perry.

[14] “Robert Abbott, Jr.’s Honor Bell Artifacts,” Honor Bell Foundation. Accessed June 23, 2020, https://www.honorbell.org/news?tag=artifact%20stories.

[15] “M9.2 Alaska Earthquake and Tsunami of March 27, 1964,” Unites States Geological Survey, accessed July 28, 2020, https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/events/alaska1964/.

[16] Nancy Abbott, interview with Lauren Perry.

[17] Ibid.

[18] “Operation Helping Hand,” Air Mobility Command Museum, accessed July 29, 2020, https://amcmuseum.org/history/operation-helping-hand/.

[19] Ibid.

[20] Ibid.

[21] Nancy Abbott, interview with Lauren Perry.

[22] “Robert Abbott, Jr.’s Honor Bell Artifacts,” Honor Bell Foundation, accessed June 23, 2020, https://www.honorbell.org/news?tag=artifact%20stories.

[23] “Sector Upper Mississippi River,” United States Coast Guard, accessed July 29, 2020. https://www.atlanticarea.uscg.mil/Our-Organization/District-8/District-Units/Sector-Upper-Mississippi-River/.

[24] Nancy Abbott, interview with Lauren Perry.

[25] Ibid.

[26] Ibid.

[27] “Robert Abbott, Jr.’s Honor Bell Artifacts,” Honor Bell Foundation, accessed June 23, 2020, https://www.honorbell.org/news?tag=artifact%20stories.

[28] Nancy Abbott, interview with Lauren Perry.

[29] “G.I. Bill,” History.com, last updated June 7, 2019, https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/gi-bill.

[30] Nancy Abbott, interview with Lauren Perry.

[31] Ibid.

[32] “Robert Abbott, Jr.’s Honor Bell Artifacts,” Honor Bell Foundation, accessed June 23, 2020, https://www.honorbell.org/news?tag=artifact%20stories.

[33] Nancy Abbott, interview with Lauren Perry.

[34] Ibid.

[35] Ibid.

[36] Ibid.

[37] “United States Coast Guard – W-3 Chief Warrant Officer 3,” FederalPay.org, accessed July 29, 2020, https://www.federalpay.org/military/coast-guard/chief-warrant-officer-3.

[38] “Robert Abbott, Jr.’s Honor Bell Artifacts,” Honor Bell Foundation, accessed June 23, 2020, https://www.honorbell.org/news?tag=artifact%20stories.

[39] Nancy Abbott, interview with Lauren Perry.

[40] “Robert Abbott, Jr.’s Honor Bell Artifacts,” Honor Bell Foundation, accessed June 23, 2020, https://www.honorbell.org/news?tag=artifact%20stories.