Robert Alvin Knox was born on March 26, 1922, in San Francisco, California, to Mr. and Mrs. R. E. Knox. Along with his sisters Barbara and Marjorie, Bob was raised in the Aptos area of Santa Cruz County. After completing grammar school, he enrolled in Watsonville High School. There Robert played in the band, was in the school orchestra and was a member of the track team. He graduated in June 1940. Upon graduation he moved to San Luis Obispo, California where he worked for Purity Food Stores.

Robert Knox enlisted in the US Navy on June 7, 1942 and was sent to the US Naval Training Center in San Diego. Following boot camp, he attended the navy's aviation radio school in Seattle, Washington, and the aviation gunnery school in Hollywood, Florida.

In January 1943, Knox reported to Floyd Bennett Field in Brooklyn, New York for ship assignment. In June of that same year, he joined the crew of an unspecified ship serving in the Atlantic Theater of the war.

On August 31, 1943, Aviation Radioman Third Class Robert Alvin Knox's plane crashed; he was reported "killed in the line of duty."

His remains were recovered, returned to California and reinterred in the Golden Gate National Cemetery in San Bruno in 1948.

(USDVA; SCSn October 7, 1943 5:7; Photo-WHS)