Robert Eugene Dragoo

T/4 in 3133rd Signal Service Co

ASN#35582098

Born 1923 in IN, Died 2019

County of residence at enlistment: Delaware County, IN

Other residence(s): Muncie, IN; Benton Harbor, MI; Center Township, IN; Ovid, CO; Ligonier, IN; St. Joe, IN; Selma, IN; Parker City, IN

United States Army, European Theatre of Operations

Occupation before the war: office machine operators

College education after the war: Ball State Univ. (previously Ball State Teachers' College)

Notes: PFC in 1944 Christmas Program; rank changed from PVT in GA roster to T/4 per discharge information

Source: 3133rd Program, 15 Sept 1944; 3133rd roster from 10th Mountain Division Museum at Fort Drum; AES 1944 Christmas Dinner Program; photo courtesy Find a Grave®

Bob Dragoo was born on June 28, 1923 in Muncie, IN, the elder of two sons. His father worked as a molder in a foundry.

In 1930 the family was living in Benton Harbor, MI (on Lake Michigan, just over the Indiana border). But by 1935 they were back in Indiana—in Center Township (near Muncie) where Bob's father was farming.

Bob graduated from Royerton High School in 1941. When he registered for the draft, on June 30, 1942, he was working for Universal Electric Company in Muncie. His January 18, 1943 enlistment record lists him as an office machine operator.

He did his basic training at Fort Lewis in Washington, and spent time at the University of Idaho. Then he was assigned to take a nine-month college course at Illinois College in Jacksonville, IL through the Army's ASTP program. (This was a military training program designed to meet the wartime demand for junior officers and soldiers with technical skills.)

He eventually became a member of the 3133 Signal Service Company, and served in Italy with the unit. In an interview in 2019, he recalled being a frequent driver for General Mark Clark, the Army's youngest 4-star general. He was discharged in February, 1946.

Bob used his GI Bill benefits to enroll at Ball State Teachers' College (now Ball State University). He married fellow student Donna Ruth Huffer on October 29, 1947. She graduated in 1948, and Bob in 1949 with a focus on business education, geography, and physical education. That December, he and Ruth became the parents of twin sons, Clifford and Gerald. They would have a third son, Bruce.

Bob taught and coached football and basketball for a while in Ovid, CO. Then he returned to Indiana where he taught at Riverdale High School in St. Joe and at Ligonier High School. In 1963, he moved to the Liberty-Perry School Corporation in Selma, IN, where he spent the rest of his career, primarily teaching sixth and seventh grade math. Donna, who had become a school librarian after she received her degree, also worked at in the Liberty-Perry schools as a school librarian. They retired in 1983 and 1984, respectively.

Bob was a member of Hazelwood Christian Church in Muncie, IN and of the Indiana Retired Teachers' Association. His and Donna's three sons grew up to be a teacher, a police officer, and a dentist.

Bob died on December 24, 2019 in Parker City, IN. He is buried at the Gardens of Memory in Muncie, IN.