LOYLE, Robert Earl, Sr., PO1

This Military Service Page was created/owned by Steven Loomis (SaigonShipyard), IC3 to remember LOYLE, Robert Earl, Sr. (Bob), PO1.

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Bob was born on October 26, 1924 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He left home at the age of sixteen, making his way out to California and finding work with the Ringling Bros. Barnum and Bailey circus. Bob worked as an electrician’s assistant, raising the tents and light poles with the elephants and manning the spotlights during shows.

As soon as Bob turned seventeen he headed back east and joined the U.S. Navy at Quonset Point, Rhode Island. His electrician's experience made him an ideal candidate for the newly formed USN Construction Battalion. In January 1942 Bob shipped out to Bora Bora with 295 of his mates; they were the very first Seabees. His battalion spent part of the war as part of the 22nd Marines and saw action in the Marshall Islands. He reenlisted in the Navy after the war and subsequently was shipped back out to the South Pacific and served on board the U.S.S. LCI(G) 455 (Landing Craft Infantry Gunboat). He served on the U.S.S. Gunston Hall (LSD-5) and took part in Operation Crossroads in the Bikini Atoll. He finished out his enlistment on the U.S.S. Kermit Roosevelt (ARG-16).

Once his service in the Navy ended, Bob spent a couple of years working various jobs out west. In 1950 he enlisted in the U.S. Army with the hopes of being assigned to a construction battalion in Europe. His high scores on the entrance aptitude exam however, resulted in his recruitment into the U.S. Army Security Agency. Bob trained in Carlisle, Pennsylvania as a high speed Morse code interceptor. His assignment after training was Clark’s Air Force Base in the Philippines; right back to the South Pacific.