Robert "Bob" Livingston was born in March 1923 in Far Rockaway, New York during a blizzard. He was not a good student but enjoyed going to the ocean and playing on the sand dunes. Because of his fascination in aviation, he attended Harren Aviation High School in New York [Annotator's Note: New York, New York] where he learned to build and repair aircraft. His instructors were all military personnel. He walked into school and there was a Curtiss Hell Diver [Annotator's Note: Curtiss SB2C Helldiver or Curtiss A-25 Shrike dive bombing aircraft] there which he thought was amazing. After two years of high school, he dropped out because he could not pass English. The Great Depression [Annotator's Note: the Great Depression was a global economic depression that lasted from 1929 through 1945] did not impact him greatly. His father died when he was only nine years old, but his mother owned a successful millinery store with recurring patronage. His mother was able to hire a housemaid and housekeeper that kept an eye on Livingston when his mother was working. He also had an older sister. Livingston was aware of some of the events going on in Europe, and after the events of Pearl Harbor [Annotator's Note: the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on 7 December 1941], he enlisted in the Army Signal Corps, not knowing that two of his friends also enlisted into service. Livingston forged his mother's name because he was too young to enter the service. Because Livingston weighed 240 pounds, the Navy, Coast Guard, and Marine Corps rejected him. Later he chose the Air Force. He became active in September 1942. Regarding Pearl Harbor, he did not think much of it. He quit school and got a job at a war plant. With the money he earned, he took civilian pilot training and received his license before entering the service. He became friends with his instructor.

Robert "Bob" Livingston volunteered for service with the US Army Air Force on 4 September 1942. He was sent to Camp Shanks [Annotator's Note: in Orangetown, New York] by train. He stayed there for a week and was then put on a troop train to Miami Beach, Florida. It took three days to get to his destination. The day after he arrived, he was put on KP service [Annotator's Note: kitchen patrol]. During the day, he was given all kinds of test for placement. Livingston requested aerial gunnery but was denied due to his weight. He was sent to Buckley Field in Denver, Colorado [Annotator's Note: now Buckley Air Force Base, Aurora, Colorado] for armament training. He was trained how to operate machine guns, how to take them apart and fix them. He enjoyed his training overall. After he graduated from special training, he was sent to Salt Lake City, Utah to a reception center. Although he graduated as a fighter armorer, Livingston was assigned to a B-17 bomber outfit [Annotator's Note: Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress heavy bomber], the 511th Bombardment Squadron of the 351st Bombardment Group, and sent to El Paso, Texas. While he was at the Air Force base, he was in heaven because of all the aircraft and equipment there. For a few months, he trained with his crew even though he was still adamant about being an aerial gunner. He kept being denied because he was too fat. It was announced that the famous actor, Clark Gable [Annotator's Note: US Army Major William Clark Gable, American film actor], was going to be in his bomb group. After training completed in El Paso, he was sent to Pueblo, Colorado for more training with his squad. They were supposed to be sent to Camp Shanks, ant then shipped out overseas, but there was a delay and he and his squad were sent to mountain and winter school in Madison, Wisconsin. A week later, his squad was sent to Camp Shanks to be shipped overseas. He also took shooting training, while they were waiting for his orders. He was given a Thompson machine gun [Annotator's Note: .45 caliber Thompson submachine gun] and could not believe how heavy it was. When it was time for him to go overseas, he boarded the Queen Elizabeth [Annotator's Note: RMS Queen Elizabeth]. He heard that there were 19,000 troops on board, and he shared a cabin with 18 other men. The Queen Elizabeth sailed across the Atlantic by itself because it was faster than most ships. Livingston disembarked in Scotland and was put on a troop train that took him to a small town in England. Beginning in May 1943, he was stationed in Polebrook, England where he remained throughout the war.

While stationed in Polebrook, England [Annotator's Note: with the 511th Bombardment Squadron, 351st Bombardment Group, 8th Air Force], Robert "Bob" Livingston learned to load various bombs aboard B-17s [Annotator's Note: Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress heavy bomber]. During training, they only practiced with 100-pound bombs, but when he went on missions, they were dropping 250-to-2,000-pound bombs. They often carried ten 500-pound bombs or six 600-pound bombs. As casualties began to rise among the air crews, volunteers were needed to replace aerial gunners on short notice. Late one night, Livingston was awakened and told he would become a waist gunner on a B-17 the following morning. He was promptly promoted from private to sergeant and joined the crew. He sewed on his own chevron stripes that night. Because Livingston had no experience shooting an aerial gun, the pilot told him to practice firing his weapon at clouds on the way up to altitude. The mission was over the submarine pens at Saint-Nazaire [Annotator's Note: Saint-Nazaire, France]. On this B-17, the waist gunner position did not have a window. It was a wide-open space, and a pipe welded on the frame of the plane where they stuck a gun on it. He had to sit there in 60-degrees-below-zero weather, smelling engine smoke. As the bomber began its flight back to Polebrook, Livingston spotted an enemy fighter flying straight up towards them. In a fit of terror and unsure of how to react, he closed his eyes and squeezed the trigger, striking and downing the enemy. Livingston was awarded for his bravery and courage, but only shot that plane down out of terror. Livingston watched the German cities of Hamburg and Bremen burn on two other missions. His time as a waist gunner was short lived, just seven missions, as he suffered from air sickness which caused him to lose nearly 70 pounds. He was medically grounded and put back into armament where he oversaw an anti-aircraft gun crew. The armament men were treated very well. He often snuck off to London [Annotator's Note: London, England] and did not get into trouble. During his time in Europe, he received several military awards. He remained in Europe for 26 months until he was flown back to the United States to begin training for combat in the Pacific. He was first dent to Sioux Falls, South Dakota and then he was assigned to a B-29 [Annotator's Note: Boeing B-29 Superfortress very heavy bomber] outfit in Pyote, Texas and was stationed there when the Japanese surrendered. He was discharged on 14 September 1945 and enlisted in the reserves. He worked in the blacksmith shop at Mitchel Field in Long Island [Annotator's Note: Long Island, New York]. Working in the black smith ship was a marvelous experience. He was able to learn a lot about metal work, which he enjoyed. After 15 months he was discharged as a Staff Sergeant. Livingston was in Europe during VE-Day [Annotator's Note: Victory in Europe Day, 8 May 1945]. The military gave them all passes [Annotator's Note: an authorized absence for a short period of time] to celebrate. He and the fellows got drunk and played games. Livingston was so thankful when the bomb [Annotator's Note: nuclear weapons dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan, 6 and 9 August 1945] was dropped, because he was being prepared to go to Japan. He feels no regret for being happy the country used the bombs to end the war. On VJ-Day [Annotator's Note: Victory Over Japan Day, 15 August 1945], he was in Pyote. He was given 30 days leave and then was discharged soon after.

After World War 2, Robert "Bob" Livingston, moved to New York near his sister. He eventually moved into an apartment after living in a rooming house for a year. He tried to finish high school but did not like sitting in a class with 15-year-old kids, so he quit. He found a job as a mechanic at a bank vault and security company. They trained him to be a safe cracker and lock smith. He was with the company for almost 40 years and promoted several times before retiring. He also did side jobs throughout his life, mostly fixing jewelry, and scooters. He also worked in a construction company for a little while before working at the bank vault and security company. Livingston's most memorable experience is being a waist gunner and shooting down an enemy plane. He fought in World War 2 because he always wanted guns and was fascinated by them. When he was a boy, he made a shooting range in his cellar. After a while, he got to hate guns. The war changed his life because it made a man out of him. He had made his own decisions and not depended on his mother. He enjoyed his experience and thinks every young person should go through military service. Being in the service taught him how to think for himself and to realize he can do anything. He was a good gunner and obedient service man. Livingston said that half of the people in the country do not know anything about World War 2 and it is just history to most people. He still holds animosity towards Germany and Japan because all his training was to kill them. He believes there should be institutions like the National WWII Museum [Annotator's Note: The National WWII Museum in New Orleans, Louisiana], and they should continue to teach World War 2 to future generations. He is very proud of his Legion of Honour [Annotator's Note: highest French order of merit; est. 1802 by Napoleon Bonaparte]. He also received the Victory medal [Annotator's Note: World War II Victory Medal] for his efforts in D-Day [Annotator's Note: D-Day; the Allied invasion of Normandy, France on 6 June 1944].