Army 1Lt Robert "Bob" Charles McClanahan was born in Farmersburg, Sullivan County, Indiana on March 23, 1943, the son of Max Orion McClanahan (1889-1963) and Nelle Luetta Arnett (1893-1984). Max's family moved to Pensacola in 1921 and he supported his family as a Civil Service employee at NAS until his retirement. His son Robert attended middle school and upon completion entered Pensacola High School where he graduated in the Class of 1930. Robert would leave the family home at 1700 East Avery Street to attend the University of Florida. Following his graduation in 1934, he took a job as a teacher at Pensacola High School. Prior to 1940, he took a job as a biologist for the US Biological Survey with the Department of Agriculture. He rented a flat at the Governor Shepard Apartments at 2121 Virginia Avenue and brought home an annual paycheck of $2,600.
Somewhere along the line he met a young lady by the name of Joan Harwood (1914-) and the couple was married on January 3, 1942 in Duval County, Florida. Little is known of her and there are few records that reflect her whereabouts except that she was from Adamstown, Maryland close to where Robert was working in Washington.
In the meantime, Robert enlisted in the US Army in January 1942 and was assigned to the 402nd Field Artillery Group. While stationed at the huge training center at Camp Butner, North Carolina he became sick and quickly developed pneumonia. His wife was not even aware that he was that sick or that he even had pneumonia. As his condition began to improve, he and his family were expecting him to be discharged from the hospital within two weeks. Suddenly, he suffered a relapse and died within a few hours from a cerebral hemorrhage. His wife and family were notified of his death and his remains were buried in Arlington National Cemetery, Virginia.
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